Married priests ... again

[otm]

Liberian:

OTM,

Without getting too personal … the lady in question is now my mother-in-law, so I know her fairly well.

The urban legend that priests work 24/7 probably comes from the fact that some very good ones do work 24/7, or at least are on call 24/7.

• Liberian

I have a number of relatives who are or were (some have died) priests; and my family has been friends with a goodly number more.

I don’t question that they are “on call” 24/6 (our bishop insists they take one day off a week).

I know some who cover more than one parish, and some who have large parishes. They can be truly busy with little or no respite. I also know a number who can manage to make any task stretch out far longer than it takes to get done correctly and efficiently. I am not talking about Mass or Confessions; I am talking about homily prep, paper work, and the general day-to-day operations of a parish. They also can be lousy at delegating tasks. In other words they can take the mundane tasks and make them fit as much time as is available. Politely said, they are inefficient. Not so politely put, they drag their feet; what else are they going to do with their time?

 

[otm]

Liberian:

OTM,

Without getting too personal … the lady in question is now my mother-in-law, so I know her fairly well.

The urban legend that priests work 24/7 probably comes from the fact that some very good ones do work 24/7, or at least are on call 24/7.

• Liberian

By the way, my comment was meant to be light-hearted, not a shot across the bow… Tone of voice doesn’t type out very well.

Having said that, anecdotal evidence abounds by anyone married to a professional, that they see less of their spouse than someone who has an 8 - 5 job, and often the ones suggesting that there isn’t enough time are measuring by the 40 hour yardstick.

I am not suggesting that there would be a veritable flood of married individuals applying to seminaries. I am simply positing that there are married men who well may have a vocation to the priesthood; I think the Church should be open to ordaining them; I see it as no denigration to the celibate priesthood; and I think the bit being bandied about by some that they would have to either ignore the demands of family of the demands of the Church seem unwilling to apply that same stricture to other professionals.

 

[otm]

Lux_et_veritas:

Actually, it is about giving oneself entirely to God. When people marry, they give themselves to each other, after they both give something to God. But a priest and religious - they give themselves entirely to God. I can’t imagine how such a person could divvy up those loves.

I don’t think the vocation crisis will be a crisis in another decade or so. I believe we are going to see more young men entering the priesthood.

Perhaps the same way a parent can truly and wholeheartedly love more than one child?

And I would never posit a merried priesthood as “fixing” any crisis of vocations.

 

[Andrew_11]

I think that if the Roman Rite (I am Byzantine) started to ordain married men again, it would improve the image of the Church in the eyes of others. Many protestants view it as odd that preists are not allowed to marry. They feel that it is in part the cause for the whole scandle.

I see how it can be benifecial for a preist to be unmarried. But allowing married men into the preisthood would improve the image of the church, possibly creating new converts. It could also increase the number of men who become priests because many more men would be eligible to be ordained.

 

[Racer_X]

Racer X:

There is a very good practical reason why Catholic priests should not be married.

Catholics have a higher regard for what marriage is than the world does, even higher than other most other Christians. It is instituted by God and, as such, permanent and not something a human can set aside. More it is a Sacrament, a channel bringing God’s grace into our lives. It is a blessing from God, a joy, and also a serious responsibility. A priest must strictly uphold this view and foster it in the faithful.

Now how is he going to do that if he knows what being married is really like?

This was a joke btw.