Married Priests in the U.S

[shawnbm]

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the personal argument that has been going on on this forum is inappropriate. It’s not directly related to the subject at hand. For the sake of the rest of our interest in the original topic, please discontinue using this forum for the argument. You guys can duke it out via PM if it’s that urgent.

That sounds like sound advice from my end. It appears folks are talking past one another and it is getting highly repetitive too.

 

[Joe_5859]

I have a more pointed question regarding married priests in a Latin Church. What is the rule regarding continence? As I understand it, a married priest is permitted to live as husband and wife and could, if God wills it, have children. Is this not correct? Accordingly, IF–and I put that in capital letters for a reason–a married man were to approach the Church and promise a vow of remaining celibate even though remaining married, would that be something the Latin Church might consider as feeling between the current Eastern Catholic discipline and that of the Latin Churches at this time? You could have married priests in the Latin Church who live as celibates although remain married. :newidea:

The question of continence after ordination is actually a bit sticky. In practice, I don’t think it is something that is asked of men in the U.S. But some canon lawyers argue that this is not in keeping with tradition or what Canon Law actually says, which is that continence binds all Latin clerics (priests and deacons) even those who are married.

 

[RyanBlack]

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the personal argument that has been going on on this forum is inappropriate. It’s not directly related to the subject at hand. For the sake of the rest of our interest in the original topic, please discontinue using this forum for the argument. You guys can duke it out via PM if it’s that urgent.

The original question has been answered. A legitimate, ancient tradition of my Church–a Church that is in communion with Rome–was misrepresented as being equivalent to bigamy. There was nothing whatsoever inappropriate about my responding to that characterization in open forum.

 

[InspiritCarol]

That’s too bad, since I am Catholic, and my Church, the Byzantine Catholic Metropolia of Pittsburgh, is in communion with Rome. My church has a tradition of married priests, and by calling married priests bigamists, you insult a valid tradition of my Church–a Church in communion with the Roman Catholic Church.

Just because I am make some off-handed remark about something that is common knowledge does not give you the right to project my words onto your church. “In communion” does not mean “IS”.

But here you go, from other sources:
This first one is an interesting commentary from the wife’s perspective.
patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/2014/05/whats-it-like-being-married-to-a-catholic-priest/
“Underlying all the problems is the reality that a priest is married to the parish first and to his wife second.”

This one touches on how very different the rites are,
ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/MARPRIE.HTM
"Finally, concerning married Episcopalian clergy becoming Catholic priests, “the Holy See has specified that this exception to the rule of celibacy is granted in favor of these individual persons, and should not be understood as implying any change in the Church’s conviction of the value of priestly celibacy, which will remain the rule for future candidates for the priesthood from this group.”

In other words, an ordained Episcopalian minister would make a profession of Faith and be received into the Catholic Church, and thereupon receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. He would then take appropriate courses which would enable him to minister as a Catholic priest."

We have to drag wiki in this right?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clerical_celibacy
Celibacy is represented in the Catholic Church as having apostolic authority. Theologically, the Church desires to imitate the life of Jesus with regard to chastity and the sacrifice of married life for the “sake of the Kingdom” (Luke 18:28–30, Matthew 19:27–30; Mark 10:20–21), and to follow the example of Jesus Christ in being “married” to the Church, viewed by Catholicism and many Christian traditions as the “Bride of Christ”.

Here is a Marionite priest talking about the reality of his vocation.
ncronline.org/news/faith-parish/first-married-man-ordained-priest-us-maronite-catholic-church
“The important thing to remember about celibacy in Roman Church is that it is a covenantal relationship between the individual priest and the church itself,” Witt said. “The priest is standing in for Christ – the ‘alter Christus’ – and he stands in for Christ not only when he is performing the sacraments, but in a much broader sense than that. We are really married to the church in a unique kind of way.”

And for the OP
Here’s an article where the Pope talks about discerning between marriage and priesthood.
worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/20/17386717-pope-francis-spoke-of-being-dazzled-by-girl-possible-change-of-celibacy-rule?lite

Peace, brothers, I mean you no harm.

 

[shawnbm]

Thank you, Joe 5859, for the link to the canon lawyer sites. I have read through a few of them and this should provide plenty of additional study material for me. Thanks again!

 

[InspiritCarol]

The question of continence after ordination is actually a bit sticky. In practice, I don’t think it is something that is asked of men in the U.S. But some canon lawyers argue that this is not in keeping with tradition or what Canon Law actually says, which is that continence binds all Latin clerics (priests and deacons) even those who are married.

This speaks about the history of lex continentiae in patristics and the history of the church.
vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cclergy/documents/rc_con_cclergy_doc_01011993_chisto_en.html

 

[Ben_Quincy]

Please stay on topic.