First:
The only authority who can decide if one is called to the diaconate, priesthood or the bishopric is the Church. The individual does not determine that he is called. He can say that he believes that he is called. However, the confirmation must come from the local bishop, if the man is a secular or from his brothers, if the man is a member of a religious order. If there is no such confirmation, then there is no call. This has been the rule of the Church since its foundation. To have a vocation to the priesthood, one must be called by the Church. An attraction to the priesthood or the presence of holiness and skills is not a call. We have many men in religious orders who have presented themselves to their superiors asking to be ordained and have been turned down for ordination. Nonetheless, the law mandates that they remain in religious life once they have made perpetual vows. Through the superior and the brotherhood, Christ communicates that the man is called to the consecrated life, but not to the priesthood. The same is true of the man who is married. The bishop deems that a man is called to the sacrament of marriage, but not to Holy Orders. Christ speaks through the bishop or the major superior.
Second:
The Roman Church has an ancient tradition of celibacy for the ordained. However, that tradition is not a doctrine. It is a discipline that dates back to Saints Peter and Paul. During the early days of the Roman Church, we ordained married men and celibate men. But as time passed, the number of celibate men increased. Celibacy gradually became one of the several disciplines required of Roman and Maronite Catholic priests. This phenomenon did not take place in the other Catholic Churches. Therefore, the discipline is does not exist in those Churches.
Third:
Because celibacy is a discipline, the Church has the power and authority to dispense from it. There are some conditions that must be understood. First, the Church may never dispense from it for a man who is called to the consecrated life. Celibacy is not a discipline for the consecrated life, it is essential. Therefore, a man who is called to be a Jesuit, must be celibate. Along with the call to be a priest, he has also received a call to the consecrated life as a Jesuit religious. The Church does not have the authority to allow someone to be a Jesuit without being celibate. Religious life is its own doctrine, in which celibacy is essential. Second, a man who is called to be a priest, but remain a secular man, must conform to the disciplines in place for the ordination of secular men. These men usually join a diocese and are known as diocesan priests. Some may join a society, such as the SSPX, Maryknoll, Missionhurst, FSSF, Christ the King and a few others that are for secular priests. They must conform to the discipline of the Church. Third, a dispensation is does not mean that the discipline is not in effect. It means that the person cannot fulfill the requirements of the discipline for good reason. The Church, in her mercy, grants the dispensation for the salvation of the person’s soul. She is not granting the dispensation for the sake of getting more priests.
Fourth:
The Church may dispense an ordained man to marry, but there is a trade. Even if a man is a secular deacon, secular priest, or secular bishop, he cannot marry, if he wishes to remain in ministry. Therefore, if you are single at the time that you are ordained a deacon, you must first make the promise of celibacy, before the bishop can ordain you. If you are married, you must promise to remain celibate, should you get divorced or become a widower. You then proceed to the other Orders within the sacrament, as allowed by the local bishop and canon law. However, if you are dispensed from the promise of celibacy and released from the ministry, you remain a deacon, priest or bishop, but you may return to live AS IF you were a layman and you can validly marry. This is also known as laicization. You never become a layman. The term is actually misleading. You live AS IF you were a layman.
Although there is no doctrine on the matter, all of the Catholic Churches and the Orthodox Churches agree that no married priest may ever be ordained a bishop. This discipline entered the Church during the early centuries (I can’t recall when) when the bishops were selected from among the monks. Because the monks were consecrated religious, they had vows of celibate chastity. Therefore, the bishops were celibate. This too can be changed by the proper authorities.
Fifth:
The Pastoral Provision is licit because the Apostolic See has the authority to lift the requirement when necessary. In the case of men who convert from another Christian faith and have been clergymen in that other faith, the provision states that the canons do not retroactively apply to these men. It would be unfair to say to them that they had to choose between marriage and priesthood, because at the time that they chose to marry, they were not Catholic. Ministry and marriage were available to them. This choice was not applicable to them.
The Church has to deal with these men in their condition when they enter the Church, unlike the person who was born into the Catholic faith. In other words, the canons are applicable only from the day that you become a Catholic and only those canons that can be applied. Laws are never applied retroactively and some laws do not apply at all to certain people. An excellent example of this is marriage. Two Baptists who become Catholic are validly married, even though they never married in the Catholic Church. The requirement to marry in the Catholic faith for validity is not applicable retroactively. You cannot say that now that they are Catholic, their marriage is invalid. It remains very valid.
I hope this helps.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
