Married catholic priests

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bill2
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
I remember several major disasters where the priests ran into the fire. They gave absolution and stayed to the end.

Would a married priest do that so unhesitatingly?
 
goout said:
This is a hard thing to think about and the cause of a lot of sadness, but the results speak for themselves.
Click to expand...
How about putting resources into supporting families? Free summer camp programs, transportation programs to and from church, weekend activities which families may not be able to afford in their own? Building community… Meeting people where they are, instead of always wishing they were someplace else.
 
If he is a Byzantine Rite, etc. priest, or one of those Anglican priests reconciled into the Church, there is nothing wrong with it.

But Byzantine priests ordained after marriage, and their wives, have to agree to a great deal of sexual continence regulation. I do not think this is the solution to priest shortages, except in the way that people tend to long for jobs with lots of difficulty and hard standards.
 
Last edited:
Our pastor certainly seems happy being unmarried and has many friends. Indeed, the lady who cleans the rectory and cooks for him is always there. Her three children are often there for dinner as well. So, he’s certainly not alone.
 
MonteRCMS said:
I remember several major disasters where the priests ran into the fire. They gave absolution and stayed to the end.

Would a married priest do that so unhesitatingly?
Click to expand...
Absolutely, many would. Firefighters and other rescue workers do not need to be celibate to exercise courage and self-sacrifice. It is a Grace from God, given at the moment, but also nurtured through training and practice in virtue. There is no shortage of that among married priests.

Check out the stories of these married priest-martyrs:


Roman Lysko - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

There are many such stories of married priests exhibiting heroic virtue in defense of the faith and in defense of others. Courage and heroism aren’t limited to those who might seem to have less to lose.
 
Last edited:
Augustinian said:
They are Ruthenian, no? That’s on the list.
Click to expand...
Descended, yes.

Now, however, its own sui juris church, separate from the Ruthenian. (for that matter, the church in RUthenia isn’t sui juris, is it (even though it has its own rite)?

hawk
 
There are married deacon in our diocese who were police officers, Navy submariners, and Coast Guardsmen and veterans of armed conflict while they were married. They would be no less likely to put themselves in danger now than before they were ordained.
There are also many people in many jobs who are always on call and their marriages do just fine.
I really think the idea of married priests is way above my pay grade and am neutral on the topic. Speaking of pay when my kids were growing up there were a lot of young families making less than a priest so that reason does not resonate with me.
My only thought is that God will let the Church know if and when it is time to ordain married men in the Roman Rite.
 
QwertyGirl said:
40.png
goout:
This is a hard thing to think about and the cause of a lot of sadness, but the results speak for themselves.
Click to expand...
How about putting resources into supporting families? Free summer camp programs, transportation programs to and from church, weekend activities which families may not be able to afford in their own? Building community… Meeting people where they are, instead of always wishing they were someplace else.
Click to expand...
The Church in general has a huge social outreach. Our Church-subsidized school does all kinds of family support.
That’s kinda my point. The school based resources are not bearing fruit. What we have become is a subsidy machine for a nominally Catholic School that is in reality a private school. As the faith dies out, those huge social outreach initiatives will also die out.

These things…hospitals, schools, food pantries, foreign aid, along with art, science, music,
did not happen by accident. These systems were built by people who intentionally believed and live the faith.

There are many more worthy avenues than confirming the comfortable in their comfortably disconnected lifestyle through private schools.
Redirecting those resources to those who are called to follow God in a radical way is a good one.
 
Last edited:
I wish we had more information on the long term experience of married priests in places where that is the norm of the local diocese. What is it like in the Ukraine, Lebanon, or places in the Balkans or Mid East where one or another Eastern Church is the local territorial Church, and married clergy presumably have to handle large parishes and cover the bulk of the diocesan ministry?

I suspect those areas are impacted somewhat by the huge increase in marriage problems the West has experienced, though perhaps not as much. What strengths do married priests bring? Does possibility of marriage impact on recruiting seminarians? Does it steer more to the religious orders?

Of course, any given example might be qualified for some reason - “that country’s experience was affected by being under Communism”, or “that land’s experience was affected by being under Muslim rule”, neither of which is true of countries in the West. Well, not yet anyway.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top