Married/Female priests?

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Rm Catholic:
I believe that the priest should be unmarried so he can give everything he has to God and the church.

The Catholic church, specifically the magesterium, is protected from error on matters of doctrine, faith, and morals. It is not, however, protected from error in matters of government and/or dicipline (at least thats what I have found out).

Because celibacy is man’s gift to God, and it is also something Jesus praised, could we then conclude that maybe the governing rule of allowing priests to marry may not have been the best idea.

(I know some people will take this the wrong way…so please don’t)!!!

Even if all priests were allowed to marry, I would remain celibate as a gift and sacrifice for the sake of the kingdom!!!

Does anyone out there agree…or am I all alone again!!!

God Bless!!!
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I am in the Byzantine Catholic Church. My Church ordains married me. Priests can never marry.

Saying that, and knowing that my tradition allows married men to be ordained, I am applying to the carmelites, but even if I applied to an eparchy (diocese) I would stay celibate as that is how I am called to be.

I do not look down upon those men in the seminary who are married as the way I have chosen is not superior, it is just that we are called to follow different paths.
 
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crusader4life:
Saint Peter left his wife and family and followed and served Jesus Christ for the rest of his life.
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Where do you get this from?
 
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hthrlu:
My point is that if God wants it to change, it will change. Nothing is impossible where He’s concerned. The Church will have the “authority” to ordain women if God reveals to our Pope and Cardinals that it’s His plan for that to happen.
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The Holy Spirit is active in the Church, but Jesus is the one who established it. It does not change, it develops. Ordaining women would be a change which would reverse the entire understanding of 2000 years of sacred Tradition. Yes we are now in a time where women are equal, but Jesus disregarded any societal norms during His time; preaching and healing on the sabbath, regarding prostitutes and tax collectors as His disciples. Why did He not make Mary Magdalene an Apostle? Or His own Blessed Mother? There is no reason other than that this is an office for men. It can not change, because God Himself is the one who established it, not the Church.
Do I think it should be changed? Yeah, probably, at some point.
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😦 Please study more about this. Please read what our dearly departed Holy Father, whom you quote about something unrelated, actually wrote about this issue. It is not only fair and good, it is necessary. Please don’t let radical feminism so cloud your vision that you don’t see how a woman can not be a priest like a man can not be a mother, or a nun, or a bride. It bothers me that this bothers you and other women I know. Each sex is unique and complimentary, or else we should simply be able to reproduce asexually. There is something wrong with our mentality and the way we are complaining about this, and there is a sinful, quite Protestant arrogance in our presumption to improve on what Christ Himself established “until the end of the age.”
Doesn’t it seem that we’re responsible for overcoming the inequity of that sin of Adam and Eve?
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Yes! This is accomplished by recovering our humanity, by recovering the proper expression of our respective roles as male and female, unified in the image of God. By recovering the dignity of womanhood especially, which has been so abused (and is still abused). In this time of emancipation, let’s not mar what the liberation of women has won by suggesting that they become like men. Let’s not destroy the “feminine genius” by detaching its femininity. Has our culture become so obsessed with “equality” that we’ve equated it with identity? Another victim of postmodern over-excess I hope not. Thank God for the Church, and her unabashed proclamation of Truth!!
 
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hthrlu:
Mary was more perfect than Jesus?
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Mary was a creature and not God. Jesus was God. Because
your theology is obviously so malformed as demonstrated by
your writings, I forgot that I would have to spell out even the
most obvious things to you. Sorry for assuming too much
about your knowledge of Catholicism.
Aside from that - whether Mary wanted to be a rabbi or not has nothing to do with my point.
My point is that if God wants it to change, it will change. Nothing is impossible where He’s concerned. The Church will have the “authority” to ordain women if God reveals to our Pope and Cardinals that it’s His plan for that to happen.
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Wrong. Truth is not true for a while and then mutable. Sorry,
but again your ignorance of Catholicism is demonstrated. The
Church **can not **change Dogma.

My point is that we all would be better off if we follow the
example of the Holy instead griping and complaining about
meaningless things like earthly equality and fairness.
Jesus (who is God) got crucified. If Jesus Christ Himself got
nailed to a cross, why do you expect any better?

The Church will never, ever, ordain women. It simply does
not have the authority to do so. Implying that there is a way
for the Church to do so is heresy, IMHO.

Jeff
 
Before Adam and Eve fell, and dragged their descendents with them, they were male and femal, different even by virtue of their gross biology. Yes, we are trying to recover what was lost by the Fall, but before the Fall we were male and female, seperate and different, but complimentary and equal in God’s affection and love. We do not do the memory of Eden any service by trying to pretend that men and women are the same.
 
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Ghosty:
Before Adam and Eve fell, and dragged their descendents with them, they were male and femal, different even by virtue of their gross biology. Yes, we are trying to recover what was lost by the Fall, but before the Fall we were male and female, seperate and different, but complimentary and equal in God’s affection and love. We do not do the memory of Eden any service by trying to pretend that men and women are the same.
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Even if we did the “memory of Eden” service, there still would be nothing about man and woman being the same. Call me a chauvanist, but God created Adam first, from the dust, and created Eve from Adam, to be his helpmate. Since the beginning of time women have had their place, unfortunately women have forgotten that place, and then wonder why they are so miserable.
 
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gelsbern:
Even if we did the “memory of Eden” service, there still would be nothing about man and woman being the same. Call me a chauvanist, but God created Adam first, from the dust, and created Eve from Adam, to be his helpmate. Since the beginning of time women have had their place, unfortunately women have forgotten that place, and then wonder why they are so miserable.
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However, being first doesn’t mean better. It means we are first to serve, which we have forgetten.
 
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TobyLue:
My pastor is married. Priestly celibacy is a discipline but there are exceptions. Married Anglican priests, or married Lutheran ministers have been allowed under certain circumstances to become Catholic priests. If their wife dies, they cannot remarry.
However, a single man once ordained a priest or deacon can never marry.
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The deacon from our parish was just ordained a priest a coupler months ago. He was widowed after being a deacon for several years so his vow of celibacy went into effect.

Actually, I think the Church should consider ordaining married men – as opposed to allowing priests to marry. When I was a kid I didn’t even know that the Catholic Church had deacons but now there seem to be a fairly large number in my area, most of them married in their forties with children who are grown or nearly so. Given their demonstrated devotion to the Church I can’t see why they shouldn’t be considered for the priesthood.
 
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ByzCath:
I am in the Byzantine Catholic Church. My Church ordains married me. Priests can never marry.

Saying that, and knowing that my tradition allows married men to be ordained, I am applying to the carmelites, but even if I applied to an eparchy (diocese) I would stay celibate as that is how I am called to be.

I do not look down upon those men in the seminary who are married as the way I have chosen is not superior, it is just that we are called to follow different paths.
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I respect that. I do not have a problem with married priests either. I am just skeptical as to whether that is what Jesus had in mind??!!!

God Bless,
 
Rm Catholic:
I respect that. I do not have a problem with married priests either. I am just skeptical as to whether that is what Jesus had in mind??!!!

God Bless,
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I can respect your skepticism. I know what you mean, I am skeptical of some things too but I look to the Church for guidance. When my doubt differs from what the Church says, I give deference to the Church in those matters.
 
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ByzCath:
I can respect your skepticism. I know what you mean, I am skeptical of some things too but I look to the Church for guidance. When my doubt differs from what the Church says, I give deference to the Church in those matters.
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I can respect that as well. I guess its something that I will need to pray harder about. Thanks for the (name removed by moderator)ut!!!

God Bless
 
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ByzCath:
Where do you get this from?
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Correct me if I’m wrong, but once Jesus told Simon to follow him and be a fisher of men, Peter didn’t go back and return to his family. After Jesus’ ascention Peter and the rest of the apostles traveled around and preached Christ’s teachings. And from what I understand there is nothing mentioned of Peter’s family since Jesus called him to follow Him. Peter did pope duties for the rest of his life.
And from what I’ve understood, during the early Church, for a while priest did use to marry, but then from time and practice (so to speak) the tradition became that priest shouldn’t marry so they can have a complete committment.
I’m just learning the gist of these kind of history details, so I wouldn’t be able to explain these to the full potential. (But by doing this I’m learning!)
 
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crusader4life:
Correct me if I’m wrong, but once Jesus told Simon to follow him and be a fisher of men, Peter didn’t go back and return to his family. After Jesus’ ascention Peter and the rest of the apostles traveled around and preached Christ’s teachings. And from what I understand there is nothing mentioned of Peter’s family since Jesus called him to follow Him. Peter did pope duties for the rest of his life.
And from what I’ve understood, during the early Church, for a while priest did use to marry, but then from time and practice (so to speak) the tradition became that priest shouldn’t marry so they can have a complete committment.
I’m just learning the gist of these kind of history details, so I wouldn’t be able to explain these to the full potential. (But by doing this I’m learning!)
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I am not aware of any offical teaching by the Church on this matter.

So I think we are free to believe as we wish but as Peter had a mother in law and no where does it say that he was a widower or that he left his family, I believe that he did not do so.

Look to what the Church teaches about the family and divorce. I think it would be scandalous if the first leader of the Church abandoned his family.
 
I appreciate the lively discussion that this thread has sparked. I appreciate the sincere and helpful responses that I have received from a few other posters.

I do not appreciate being told that I needed posts “dumbed down” so that I can understand them. I don’t appreciate rude posts because I disagree with you. I certainly don’t need to be told that women have their place and would be happy there! Excuse me, but what does ANY man know about how a woman feels in her place?
This isn’t exactly showing Christ to others, which is what I DID fall in love with about the Church. I am done with this thread.
 
religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=47

This isn’t an ex cathedra statement. It’s not an infallible statement. Pope John Paul II never made any infallible statements during his 25 year pontificate. The last ex cathedra statement was made on November 1, 1950 (defining the dogma of the assumption of the Blessed Virgin). But what do I know - my theology is malformed…or so I am told.
 
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Angainor:
The prohibition on married Priests has not always existed (right? The first Pope was married.) so it seems that it is not outside the realm of possibility that married Priests could come back.

What do you think?
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The Bible only mentions Peter’s mother-in-law. There is no mention of Peter’s wife after that point. We do not know what happened to her. Is it possible she died and Jesus knew that? Is it possible that when Peter became Pope, he was no longer married?
 
This isn’t an ex cathedra statement. It’s not an infallible statement. Pope John Paul II never made any infallible statements during his 25 year pontificate. The last ex cathedra statement was made on November 1, 1950 (defining the dogma of the assumption of the Blessed Virgin). But what do I know - my theology is malformed…or so I am told.
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You’re correct that it wasn’t an ex cathedra statement, but you are incorrect if you believe it had to be in order to be valid. If you carefully read what JPII said in his encyclical, he pointed out that this teaching was already part of the deposit of faith. He could do nothing one way or another about it other than to remind us of it. He couldn’t even make an ex cathedra statement forbidding the ordaination of female priests, realistically speaking, because the decision had already been made. In the same way, a future Pope may right in a very similar fashion about the Trinity if there is ever controversy about it again, but he could not declare and define it infallibly under Papal Infallibility.

You can see what’s been said about it here:
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=582927
 
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hthrlu:
Excuse me, but what does ANY man know about how a woman feels in her place?
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I’m a man, and I know this: Everyone has a place, a divinely-appointed vocation. Happiness, which is the result of a life lived in virtue in conformity to God’s will, necessarily includes discerning and following that vocation. Since it is an unchanging doctrine - infallible by the ordinary Magesterium of the Church - that women cannot be ordained, it follows rather nicely that no woman has a genuine vocation to be ordained. Therefore, no woman could be genuinely happy if ordained, just as is the case of any man without a calling to ordination.

– Mark L. Chance.
 
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