Married Priest???

[llabella]

How can the Roman Catholic Church allow Episcopalian priests who are married and some have children convert to Catholicism and be recognized as ordained in the Church where they are allowed to say Mass??
God is truth and he is not confusion. This rule allows confusion in the church. I have not had a Roman Catholic priest give me an explanation the makes sense. What is the justification here? What message are we sending our celibate priest who are discerning about the priesthood because they are lonely or have questions of family life?

 

[Church_Militant]

Why not…St. Peter was married, and apparently some of the other apostles were, according to the New Testament.

This is a discipline of the Church and not a doctrine. Even the Lord Himself said it is not for all men but only those to whom it is given .

I would think that you would be rejoicing in the fact that the man and his family have come into the Catholic faith.

I am not saying that I would change it or anything, after all, I wrote this. Priestly celibacy is unBiblical. NOT!

The point is that it’s not a bad message sent to our priests, but a concession based on the New Testament.

 

[1ke]

How can the Roman Catholic Church allow Episcopalian priests who are married and some have children convert to Catholicism and be recognized as ordained in the Church where they are allowed to say Mass??

Because the Church has the authority to do so.

God is truth and he is not confusion. This rule allows confusion in the church.

Who’s confused? Certainly not me. Are you confused? Why?

I have not had a Roman Catholic priest give me an explanation the makes sense. What is the justification here?

Unity of the Body of Christ is of supreme importance, and this helps achieve that unity and serves the Church.

What message are we sending our celibate priest who are discerning about the priesthood because they are lonely or have questions of family life?

We are not sending ANY message at all to single men discerning the priesthood.

A married man can become a priest in certain circumstances, but a priest cannot marry.

This is true both for converts from non-Catholic denominations and our own Eastern Rite Churches.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

How can the Roman Catholic Church allow Episcopalian priests who are married and some have children convert to Catholicism and be recognized as ordained in the Church where they are allowed to say Mass??
God is truth and he is not confusion. This rule allows confusion in the church. I have not had a Roman Catholic priest give me an explanation the makes sense. What is the justification here? What message are we sending our celibate priest who are discerning about the priesthood because they are lonely or have questions of family life?

First remember that this is Chruch Law NOT Doctrine. A Married man can be Ordained under current Church law with the permission of the Pope. An Ordained man cannot Marry, at all.

The few Episcopal priests that John Paul II allowed to study for Ordaination and receive Holy Orders were seen as a special case in his judgement. Pope Benedict XVI has indicated that he will not allow any conversion Ordainations of Married men.

 

[Brother_John]

Personally, this has to be the greatest contradiction/hypocracy in the Catholic Church today. (I’m sure others have their own “faves”)

You will not likely get any “answers”, but plenty of “responses”.

The responses will generally fall into these three categories:

“Because the Church says so…”

“Because celibate priests willfully chose that sacrifice…”

“Because those who wouldn’t accept celibacy weren’t worthy of the priesthood anyway…”

We don’t accept married Catholics into the priesthood.
We don’t allow priests to marry.
We don’t even allow our married Deacons to remarry should their wife die.
BUT…we accept married convert priests, complete with their wives and children in tow…

Contradiction and Hypocracy, YES

Will you get an Answer? NO

Been there, done that…and the beat goes on…

 

[1ke]

We don’t accept married Catholics into the priesthood.
We don’t allow priests to marry.
We don’t even allow our married Deacons to remarry should their wife die.
BUT…we accept married convert priests, complete with their wives and children in tow…

Yes, we do accept married men into the priesthood. The Eastern Rite and Oriental Churches have done since the beginning and continue to do so today. The Latin Rite is only **one **Rite within the Catholic Church.

 

[agapewolf]

An ordained deacon, should his wife die, may under special circumstances remarry with correct permissions, etc. (One would be if his children are small).

This is also a discipline in the faith, not a doctrinal issue.

 

[Joe_5859]

How can the Roman Catholic Church allow Episcopalian priests who are married and some have children convert to Catholicism and be recognized as ordained in the Church where they are allowed to say Mass??

I’m not sure exactly what you meant by this, but he Catholic Church does not recognize the ordinations of Episcopal priests as valid. If an an episcopal priest converts to the Catholic Church and has the desire to become a Catholic priest, he must petition for a special dispensation. If it is granted, he is then ordained in the Catholic Church.

Celibacy is the norm in the Latin rite and there are many reasons for this. It is a discipline, not a doctrine (so it could change), but it is a discipline with a long history (going back to St. Paul) and much theological support. The Church is not going to set it aside lightly.

Most priests that I know wouldn’t want to be married. There is no way they could do all they do with a wife and kids.

Episcopal priests that convert and are ordained Catholic priests are typically older and do not have younger children. If they did have young children, their petition for ordination would likely not be granted until such time as their children were grown. This is a very different situation than if a young priest in his late 20s/early 30s was married, as he would likely have small children.

And the same rule that applies to deacons applies to them. If their wife dies, they cannot remarry.

Personally, I am thankful for the sacrifice of our celibate priests. If I am on my deathbed and they call my parish priest, I want him to be there with me giving me the sacraments. I don’t want to hear that his wife’s out of town on a business trip and he’s stuck at home because little Timmy is sick with the flu.

 

[Seatuck]

An allowance is made for those in ignorance of the Catholic faith who have been practicing protestants and felt called to be ordained. If they were Latin Rite Catholics they would have know about the discipline and chosen accordingly.

We have sympathy of their ignorance. It’s really a very charitable thing to do.
Not really sure what the problem is. It’s not confusing to me at all.

 

[Brother_John]

An allowance is made for those in ignorance of the Catholic faith who have been practicing protestants and felt called to be ordained. If they were Latin Rite Catholics they would have know about the discipline and chosen accordingly.

We have sympathy of their ignorance. It’s really a very charitable thing to do.
Not really sure what the problem is. It’s not confusing to me at all.

It’s confusing, because thousands of potentially wonderful priests have been turned away because of the celibacy requirement.

Yet, we moan and groan about the lack of vocations, then we turn around and allow non-celibate converts.

It is clearly contradictory.

 

[Seatuck]

It’s confusing, because thousands of potentially wonderful priests have been turned away because of the celibacy requirement.

Yet, we moan and groan about the lack of vocations, then we turn around and allow non-celibate converts.

It is clearly contradictory.

I think there would be a line out the door of candidates for the permanent diaconate if that were true about the celibacy issue.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Personally, this has to be the greatest contradiction/hypocracy in the Catholic Church today. (I’m sure others have their own “faves”)

You will not likely get any “answers”, but plenty of “responses”.

The responses will generally fall into these three categories:

“Because the Church says so…”

“Because celibate priests willfully chose that sacrifice…”

“Because those who wouldn’t accept celibacy weren’t worthy of the priesthood anyway…”

We don’t accept married Catholics into the priesthood.
We don’t allow priests to marry.
We don’t even allow our married Deacons to remarry should their wife die.
BUT…we accept married convert priests, complete with their wives and children in tow…

Contradiction and Hypocracy, YES

Will you get an Answer? NO

Been there, done that…and the beat goes on…

Contradiction and Hypocracy? NO
Will you get an Answer? You have been given an answer The Church has the right to make laws for herself.

 

[Brother_John]

Contradiction and Hypocracy? NO
Will you get an Answer? You have been given an answer The Church has the right to make laws for herself.

Category #1 “Because the Church says so…”

 

[Rawb]

Will you get an Answer? NO

Just because an answer does’t happen to satisfy you, brother john, doesn’t mean that it’s not an answer.

As Br. Rich SFO has said:

The Church has the right to make laws for herself.

 

[rpp]

I am going to turn on my prophetic vision and and make two predictions

Except under the existing extraordinary circumstances, the celibate priesthood will remain in the Latin Catholic church for at the very least several more centuries.

At least one poster on this thread will not be around CAF for long.

DISCLAIMER: My “prophesies” are not divinely inspired, have no supporting evidence that comes from extraterrestrial sources and is not binding on anyone, including myself. Furthermore, I also reserve the right to claim I never said any of it!

 

[Brother_John]

At least one poster on this thread will not be around CAF for long.

So, you’re trying to say I should be banned for having an opinion regarding what I perceive to be a contradictory discipline?

 

[agapewolf]

So, you’re trying to say I should be banned for having an opinion regarding what I perceive to be a contradictory discipline?

oh for goodness sake. He said no such thing and you know it.

It was a guess that you wouldn’t want to stick around.

It’s this exact kind of twisting of words that incites misunderstanding, anger, and a non-productive atmosphere here.

 

[rpp]

So, you’re trying to say I should be banned for having an opinion regarding what I perceive to be a contradictory discipline?

You know, I have read and re-read my post several times.

I still do not see you name anywhere on it.

Why in the world would you think I would even suggest such a thing? It is most uncharitable to put words into people’s mouths.

 

[Brother_John]

oh for goodness sake. He said no such thing and you know it.

It was a guess that you wouldn’t want to stick around.

It’s this exact kind of twisting of words that incites misunderstanding, anger, and a non-productive atmosphere here.

Why would I not stick around? I LOVE my Catholic Church. Just because I disagree with a few things doesn’t mean otherwise.

Some Catholics are like the kid who eats whatever is put on the plate in front of him, “Because I said so”…

Other Catholics, like me, are like the kid who eats the broccoli, even though he can’t stand it, because he knows it’s good for him.

Then there’s the Protestants, who pack up and run away from home, because they don’t like what’s on the plate in front of them.

The celibacy issue isn’t as subjective as many of the issues discussed on this forum. There is a clear contradiction. And, the only response I get is the three mentioned in the earlier post.

I may choke on the broccoli from time to time, but I eventually swallow it.

:twocents:

 

[Brother_John]

You know, I have read and re-read my post several times.

I still do not see you name anywhere on it.

Why in the world would you think I would even suggest such a thing? It is most uncharitable to put words into people’s mouths.

Oh please

It was obviously directed at someone, or you wouldn’t have written it. I’ve read lots of your posts, and you don’t strike me as the type to just toss stuff out there to waste your time