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Catholic4Jesus
Guest
Am I wrong to believe that it would be a good idea for the Latin Rite of the Church to allow priests to marry?
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DarrenOglesby
Guest
Personally as a moderate to conservative thinking Catholic, I believe that married men should be able to be ordained. It’s been that way before. And really there is nothing doctrinally wrong with married priests, like there would be with ordained women. It is also proven to work in Protestant Church’s, and also the Church already has ordained married men to the priesthood who were former protestants.
But whoever leads the church next must listen to the Holy Spirit to determine these issues, one should not make a decision based upon personal interest.
But whoever leads the church next must listen to the Holy Spirit to determine these issues, one should not make a decision based upon personal interest.
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stormcloud
Guest
Theological issues aside, I think it’s a terrible idea for practical reasons. Priests aren’t merely performing a job, it’s a vocation that requires the same energy and time commitment as a marriage. Ask any protestant married pastor how rough it is for them and it’d be even tougher for a Catholic priest (Protestants only have worship services on the weekend and while they make time for counseling, funerals and marriages, they don’t need to make time for the sacraments). Ask any married couple how they think it’d affect their marriage. Ask any priest how well he thinks he’d be able to devote the time and energy required for a healthy marriage on top of his current duties.
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DevotedChild
Guest
the only time priests are married are if they are ordained while they are currently in a marriage, which is only done by the Latin Rite and Angelical married Priests converting over to the Catholic faith. Once the priests are ordained, however, they are to abstain from any sexual activities and so forth. Ordination is similar to a marriage but instead of marrying a person, the man marries the Church as Christ did and which is why the Roman Rite requires celibacy before and after ordination, so no marriage.
I hope this explains it some. I had a similar question to this at one point and this is the answer found from research and asking local priests.
God Bless!
I hope this explains it some. I had a similar question to this at one point and this is the answer found from research and asking local priests.
God Bless!
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stormcloud
Guest
They’re required to be chaste, but that’s not the same as abstaining from the “marital embrace”. All married couples are called to be chaste.
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Orleans_Attny
Guest
Personally, I think you are. But this is a discipline, not a doctrine, so it’s subject to change. I would not, however, be happy with a change allowing priests to marry.
Pax,
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po18guy
Well-known member
Has anyone bothered to ask the Priests what they think of this?
Most of them have described celibacy as a gift.
So, we should take this away from them?
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Orleans_Attny
Guest
Exactly
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DevotedChild
Guest
That is something along the lines of what I was saying but they cant have any more children was part of what I was trying to say with that, at least that is how I understood the information I was given/found. I could be wrong.
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Orleans_Attny
Guest
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stormcloud
Guest
Being open to life is a requirement for chastity in the marital embrace, so that wouldn’t be true either. They can have kids.
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Joy2day
Guest
I think its wrong based on practical & theological grounds. First the practical - realistically in current society almost 50% of marriages end in divorce, and when children are involved, then so are custody disputes - probably the divorced single father priest who is simultaneously applying for an annulment will focus all his sermons on the woman caught in adultery…! And what happens if the woman he marries isnt catholic? And what happens if he wants to marry someone who isnt female?
Secondly, the theological side - a priest already wears a wedding ring - does this mean nothing? How can he be married to two at once? I think those priests properly married to God are not interested in marrying a person, & those not properly.committed to God, are interested in marrying a person, & therefore shouldnt be priests anyway.
Secondly, the theological side - a priest already wears a wedding ring - does this mean nothing? How can he be married to two at once? I think those priests properly married to God are not interested in marrying a person, & those not properly.committed to God, are interested in marrying a person, & therefore shouldnt be priests anyway.
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Nigel7
Guest
No.
"An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife—and his interests are divided."
1 Cor 7:32-33
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Joy2day
Guest
I forgot another practicality - the confessional - married persons are not supposed to have any secrets and so - he’d tell his wife all the confessions or maybe just the important ones, & no one in the parish would trust him or her.
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Orleans_Attny
Guest
Are you married?!?!?!
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stormcloud
Guest
I think there’d be an exception there Joy2day. 
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Iron_Donkey
Guest
Yes in that there are some, though not many.
Maybe in that technically it is possible.
But in all likelihood, No, it’s not on the drawing board any time soon.
I believe you are wrong for several reasons, and the current leadership of the Church currently also thinks you are wrong (which is why celibacy is the norm), but as has been mentioned no one is bound to think that either practice is superior.
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Iron_Donkey
Guest
You may be overstating your case somewhat. There are married priests, and they are bound by the seal of confessional, and their wives would know and understand this.
The married priesthood is in no way impossible (in the way that, say, female ordination is), it is just not believed to be a good idea by those who make the decisions. There are good reasons for the celibate priesthood (even those who think it should go away should admit that), but if your reasoning leads you to think that even a single married priest practicing as normal would be a terrible thing, you may want to rethink it a bit as there are several (though not many) married Latin Rite priests.
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lo_amo87
Guest
Well, considering it used to be in practice, and I would bet there were a lot less sexually-confused priests in the church (and therefore, less abuse), I would say it’s a good idea. I’ve been a member of the Greek Orthodox church for two years now and all the priests are married.
Additionally, I have found it frustrating in the past to communicate with a Catholic priest on family/marriage/child issues because, let’s face it, they have no real-world experience beyond hearing about everyone else’s problems. They have no idea what it is like to be married or to raise a child.
To address the “I’m too busy in the church to attend to my family,” I think this is hogwash. The priest’s family is usually heavily involved with the church, in fact the priest’s wife (in the Greek church called a Prespytira) has a special vocation of her own to be available in running church programs and assisting her husband. Additionally, their children are usually quite involved and usually end up doing something within the church as they become adults.
You are forgetting also that just because marriage could be open to priests, this doesn’t mean he has to partake in this vocation. My husband and I are friends with a greek orthodox monk, on his way to priesthood, who has chosen a celibate life despite having an open door to marriage (and in fact ended a serious relationship to pursue celibacy).
In conclusion, this was a traditional practice for centuries and I believe it was a poor decision the church made to strip away the ability for priests to truly understand what it is like to have a family life.
Additionally, I have found it frustrating in the past to communicate with a Catholic priest on family/marriage/child issues because, let’s face it, they have no real-world experience beyond hearing about everyone else’s problems. They have no idea what it is like to be married or to raise a child.
To address the “I’m too busy in the church to attend to my family,” I think this is hogwash. The priest’s family is usually heavily involved with the church, in fact the priest’s wife (in the Greek church called a Prespytira) has a special vocation of her own to be available in running church programs and assisting her husband. Additionally, their children are usually quite involved and usually end up doing something within the church as they become adults.
You are forgetting also that just because marriage could be open to priests, this doesn’t mean he has to partake in this vocation. My husband and I are friends with a greek orthodox monk, on his way to priesthood, who has chosen a celibate life despite having an open door to marriage (and in fact ended a serious relationship to pursue celibacy).
In conclusion, this was a traditional practice for centuries and I believe it was a poor decision the church made to strip away the ability for priests to truly understand what it is like to have a family life.
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Wa_Michael
Guest
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