Married Preists? How do I answer

[otjm]

I think I and some of those who had responded to my posts are on different page. I understand it is a discipline, and my post is to support the discipline while some of you said it is better for a priest to be married.

I am simply trying to support this : If someone wants to become a priest, then he cannot get married.

If I couldn’t make myself any clearer, then I am sorry. You just have to put up with me on this.

Well, currently that is sort of correct; because if someone who wants to eventually be a priest happens to be a non-Catholic; gets married and becomes a minister, particularly in the Anglican/Episcopalian Church, and later converts, he might be able to become a Catholic priest.

Part of which gets to the nut of the issue; the Roman rite Catholic Church will not ordain you if you are a Catholic, get married and then perceive you may have a calling to the priesthood, but they will do so if you are an Episcopalian married clergy, and decide to convert (although granted it is not automatic). So being married and non-Catholic gives you a way better chance of becoming a Catholic priest than being married and Catholic.

The Church obviously doesn’t think that marriage is a prohibition to being a priest in general, as they allow it in the Eastern rites, and in the narrow circumstances in the Roman rite.

From what I have read, it seems that Rome appears to have some fear that celibacy would be done away with, or that anyone broaching the question has that motivation, or that there would be such an influx of married men that celibacy would be minimized.

I simply don’t see anyone proposing to do away with celibacy.

I also don’t see any hugh influx; if for no other reason than that a married man does not make such a choice in a vacuum; he has a spouse and possibly children, and they will enter into the equation.

But the status is that in the Roman rite, if you are Catholic and married, you will not be ordained.

Oh, and to the issue of all the priests who have left ministry to get married, they are not coming back in, period. Both the history of the Eastern and the Western rites are that priests, once ordained cannot be married and be actively priests, and that has a 2000 year history. There is a very limited exception in at least some of the Eastern rites, which would allow that in the very limited circumstances of a married man being ordained, his wife dies, and he has young children; in that limited circumstance he might be allowed to remarry.

Other than that, ain’t gonna happen.

 

[water]

Oh, please! As if they aren’t human…

What do you think of St. Paul passage that I posted?
What would you say to him? agree or disagree with him?

1 Corinthians 7:31-34

31 And they that use this world, as if they used it not: for the fashion of this world passeth away. 32 But I would have you to be without solicitude. He that is without a wife, is solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please God. 33 But he that is with a wife, is solicitous for the things of the world, how he may please his wife: and he is divided. 34 And the unmarried woman and the virgin thinketh on the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she that is married thinketh on the things of the world, how she may please her husband.

1 Corinthians 7:37
37 For he that hath determined being steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but having power of his own will; and hath judged this in his heart, to keep his virgin, doth well.

 

[MusicMan]

There are a couple of things that aren’t always clearly understood in these discussions.

First off, the Latin Catholic Church does not currently possess a financial structure to pay a priest enough to support a family. How would we solve this issue? More to the point, how do the Eastern Rite Churches deal with this?

Secondly, the argument that the Eastern Rites have married priests. This is true, and it is a venerable tradition in the East, one that will not be abolished. However, aren’t Eastern parishes significantly smaller than Latin Rite parishes? It would be far easier to manage a congregation of 300 families than one of 1500, and still have time for your family.

 

[Marian_Carroll]

**Ladies and Gentlemen:

The efficacy of a celibate vs. married priesthood has been discussed in past threads ad infinitum.

The question the OP has asked is how to explain to someone the basis on which a celibate priesthood is affirmed and that would include understanding that there is an Eastern and Western difference in practice.

Please return to the original premise of the thread, help out the OP, and save the extraneous discussion for yet another battleground on yet another day.

Thanks for your assistance.
**

 

[down_under]

Just to mention so you know. The priest shortage regardless of popular opinion is almost over. everywhere record numbers of young people are entering seminarys. Our late popes legacy to us. he said the hope for the church was in the young people and he put everything he had into them he inspired a generation to be holy and they responded with holyness. The rebound will happen. It is already in the process and will soon be a reality. maybe not overflowing numbers. but in the next 4 or 5 years you will see a significant increase in holy young priests. There is no need or desire by the holy see who is the only person who has such athority to allow priests to marry. That having been said there is only 1 exception that I know of to this rule and this was by special dispensation from the pope himself. given to a convert to the faith one Ray Ryland. now Fr. Ray Ryland who holds a post with the Comming Home Network. He is there chaplin or something I forget what he actually does there. But I have met him personally. That is factual you can look up the CHN on the net if you like. As for the allowence to gennerally allow priests to marry. to put it simply those who have the athority to make the decision have no want wish or desire, and see no need to allow all priests in general to marry. They think we just need to hang in there a little longer so we can watch the seeds that were planted blossom.

 

[FCEGM]

As the OP, I must say that I am confused. I am a cradle Catholic looking to answer my confused protestant friend who believes solely in the bible (not tradition and Rome, like we do) about priests not being able to marry and I still am lost.

She challenged me, “Show me in the bible where it says a priest cannot marry.” I want to defend my faith.

Roman Rite, Eastern Rite, Latin Rite. I am Catholic and don’t understand that. How do I sit there and explain, “Well, in this Catholic tradition it is accepted, but in this one it is not.” Doesn’t that make us seem wishy washy?

Aaargh!! I do not expect to be spoonfed the faith. I do not know the nitty gritty like you all do. All I know is I love the Eucharist and what that stands for. I can defend that.

And, Jocelyn, because of the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist and of the priesthood one can see why celibacy was embraced early in the Church, not only because of the Lord’s own example of celibate living. The discipline of celibacy stems, at least in part, from the nature of the priesthood itself, namely that a priest offers sacrifice (THE Sacrifice of the Mass). As we see already practiced in Old Testament times, the priests who rotated terms of service in the Temple were required to practice sexual fasting during the time of their service. (We see this at the beginning of St. Luke’s gospel when he presents us with the account of Zachary and Elizabeth and the conception of John (the Baptist).)

So while celibate priests are to practice life-long sexual fasting, it has also been the age-old discipline of married priests to observe life-long continence and/or at least sexual fasting before offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

 

[Zooey]

As the OP, I must say that I am confused. I am a cradle Catholic looking to answer my confused protestant friend who believes solely in the bible (not tradition and Rome, like we do) about priests not being able to marry and I still am lost.

She challenged me, “Show me in the bible where it says a priest cannot marry.” I want to defend my faith.

Roman Rite, Eastern Rite, Latin Rite. I am Catholic and don’t understand that. How do I sit there and explain, “Well, in this Catholic tradition it is accepted, but in this one it is not.” Doesn’t that make us seem wishy washy?

Aaargh!! I do not expect to be spoonfed the faith. I do not know the nitty gritty like you all do. All I know is I love the Eucharist and what that stands for. I can defend that.

Some Rites within the Catholic Church do ordain married men (although a priest may not marry after ordination and married men may not become bishops, usually).

Priestly celibacy is a discipline so it can change, but it is based on sound doctrine, as well as long experience and common sense. It is also a charism, so a person diserning a vocation is well advise to discern the charism first, or at the same time.

Catholic parishes cannot support married priests with families, as Protestant or Jewish congregations do, because most refuse to tithe as their brothers do.

What do you think of St. Paul passage that I posted?
What would you say to him? agree or disagree with him?

1 Corinthians 7:31-34

31 And they that use this world, as if they used it not: for the fashion of this world passeth away. 32 But I would have you to be without solicitude. He that is without a wife, is solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please God. 33 But he that is with a wife, is solicitous for the things of the world, how he may please his wife: and he is divided. 34 And the unmarried woman and the virgin thinketh on the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she that is married thinketh on the things of the world, how she may please her husband.

1 Corinthians 7:37
37 For he that hath determined being steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but having power of his own will; and hath judged this in his heart, to keep his virgin, doth well.

These are good passages! In the same paragraph, St Paul says, in verse 7, after discussing the subject of marriage, that he wishes that all “all men were even as I am”–i.e., single, celibate.
There is also the example of our Lord, the great high Priest, Who was never married…
This whole chapter is about discerning one’s own vocation. St Paul speaks to all, and one of the vocations he speaks of, is the priesthood.

And there is also the fact that, you see, as a Protestant, she believe in the personal interpretation of Scripture…Which is to say, that speaking on her own terms, that the Catholic Church has at least as much right to interpret the Scripture as she does.

If nothing else works, may I offer up the fact that my very own, United Methodist pastor, discerned not only a call to the ministry but to a celibate life, as a very young man, & at 50 has no regret of it, since he has more time & energy to devote to this Church, at which he labors some 80 to 90 hours a week…Two full time jobs’ worth. When would he ever have time for a family???
If a Methodist pastor, whose church does not ask it of him, can see this, perhaps it is not so strange that the Catholic Church considers it a worthy discipline. (Not, I believe, a doctrine?).

God bless all here.

 

[puzzleannie]

…and how many dedicated people don’t?

Really? After working all those hours they get to go home to an empty, lonely place - sounds like a recipe for a lot more problems than they would have if married.

priests and consecrated religious, unless they are hermits, are expected to live some form of communal life, for exactly that reason. The current situation of many priest in a lonely rectory is sad, and not what the Church intends. Diocesan priests are expected to live with other priests, order priests are expected to live in convents or monasteries. At the very least priests are expected to come together regularly for prayer, fellowship etc.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

I just started reading things by Pope Benedict. You will never see married priest as long as he is Pope, this I can assure you.

Jim