Non-Catholics: If you could change anything (NOT THEOLOGICAL) about the Catholic Church what would it be?

[Peter_J]

Never going to happen.

A priest is on call 24/7. Adding in marriage would really mess that up.
There are married priests in eastern rites
…

Wow, jediliz, why don’t you tell us what you **really **think of Eastern Catholicism?

…

Heh, just kidding. I *don’t *really want you to do that. However, feel free to consider this statement from the leader of the Catholic Church: “Fundamentalism is a sickness that exists in all religions.”

 

[jediliz]

Wow, jediliz, why don’t you tell us what you **really **think of Eastern Catholicism?

…

Heh, just kidding. I *don’t *really want you to do that. However, feel free to consider this statement from the leader of the Catholic Church: “Fundamentalism is a sickness that exists in all religions.”

Um, I don’t dislike eastern rites nor am I some anti Vatican 2 traditionalist. I am saying that eastern rite priests probably have a difficult time balancing family and their duties. I once read the blog of an eastern rite priest’s wife.

Young priests (parochial vicar) get reassigned every two years in my diocese. That would be quite difficult to move around if you have a family (probably similar to army or air force). And the income isn’t much since many of them teach.

Just trying to point out that marriage won’t increase vocations. And don’t tell me Peter was married…a widower can have a mother in law.

 

[drac16]

I’d remove their iconography. Even from a purely artistic point of view, iconography doesn’t do much for me. I don’t like it when people from my religion use icons, so I might as well be consistent and dislike iconography as a whole.

 

[badnewsbarrett]

The only thing that I hear sometimes from a few Catholics I know is that the bureaucratic red tape can be very long and tedious when the Catholic Church is deciding whether someone’s previous marriage was valid or not when they are seeking an annulment or seeking remarriage to someone else who has been previously married.

In other words, the gripe is not with the Catholic Church’s policy, but with the speed in which decisions are made.

I say this to be informative and not to disagree at all- you are absolutely right, and this has been the focus of specific Magisterial attention over the past couple of years, culminating in something important in the last few months. So, contrary to what my username implies, this is good news.

catholic.com/blog/jimmy-akin/pope-francis-reforms-annulment-process-9-things-to-know-and-share

If you search for something like “pope reforms annulment process,” you’ll find a variety of news articles out there too. Some should be viewed with grains of salt however- certain publications cover religious news without taking steps to do it very well.

 

[Peter_J]

Um, I don’t dislike eastern rites nor am I some anti Vatican 2 traditionalist.

Alright, thank you telling me. But if so, then I think you should reread what you wrote in post 8, before too many more people read it.

 

[Reuben_J]

Priests sure are on call 24/7, and there are just not enough of them. Mandatory celibacy is the number one barrier to young men entering the priesthood, and removing the requirement for diocesan priests would solve that problem practically overnight.

I do acknowledge that neither the East nor the West has ever done married bishops. What this means for the priesthood, though, is that married priests know they will always be diocesan priests. You know how with some priests you know they’re treating it as a stepping stone to another position? That would never happen with married priests.

Additionally, with some priests being married it would not mess everything up. There are married priests in this world and it objectively does not mess things up, not just in theory but in actual reality. Married priests operate a bit differently than the celibate ones, they serve at only one parish and travel a lot less, and their hours are a bit more flexible in order to allow for family time. Celibate priests wind up being more flexible comparatively speaking, but this is something they already do- they would just have to do a bit less of it on account of the priesthood becoming at least 50% larger all of a sudden. Not only would it not mess things up, it would operate more smoothly than it currently does, considering how so many parishes do without any permanent placement and this is a relatively light priest shortage compared to anywhere south of the United States.

As for female deacons, perhaps they aren’t needed. And it looks like that’s your preference as well. But some other people have a different preference, and that is what was inquired after by the OP. So what you should do is nicely ask what the reasons are for such a preference and don’t immediately down-talk people just because they did exactly what was asked of them- which is to say, express a non-Catholic preference for a non-theological change.

Good post. There are many priests who would rather that priests, not necessarily themselves, be married. So the issue is ongoing though we may unlikely to see it happens in the near future.

There are pros and cons for married priests. Being not a priest myself, I would rather the Church continues with non-married priests. Sure, it’s easy to say but still I would call that priests remain celibate. Priesthood is a calling, a vocation that’s for God to call whom He wants to, so not everybody can be a priest, if he does not have the calling. He would be better married and have kids, raise a family.

As for female deacons, I agree that would not happen, so the issue does not arise.

 

[SAVINGRACE]

Priestly celibacy is not a doctrine of the Church. It is a discipline. And, as such, it could theoretically change, the Church could choose to ordain married men.

Doctrines cannot change…ever.

Disciplines can be changed and have changed.

 

[Vic_Taltrees_UK]

• I would love for Catholics to love Scriptures more
• I would love for Catholics to trust God more and teach other Catholics to trust God
• I would love for Catholics to visit other Catholics in pairs and groups more
• I would love for Catholics to intercede jointly more
• I would love for Catholics to talk about sacraments less (except Confirmation)
• I would love for catholics to manifest the indwelling Jesus more
• I would love for catholics to manifest the power of the Holy Spirit more

 

[Vic_Taltrees_UK]

I would also love for Catholics, including Catholic authorities, to begin researching what is meant by “evangelising”.

 

[Vic_Taltrees_UK]

…

• I would love for Catholics to talk about sacraments less (except Confirmation)

…

I’ll rephrase, talk about Eucharist and Holy Orders less, in the hope that the deafening silence invites contributions on other needed subjects.

I want to hear more about Penance-Reconciliation-Confession or whatever it’s called. Especially how the actual penance itself can be tailored to the growth need of the catholic. E.g stop assuming we’ve all got scruples and prescribing 2 Hail Marys. On a rare occasion I was prescribed a medium-sized one that helped me grow. That was in a period when other Catholics were sharing Scriptures with me more, anyway.

Anyway how on earth does one act out one’s Confirmation and put it into practice?

 

[JonNC]

I’d remove their iconography. Even from a purely artistic point of view, iconography doesn’t do much for me. I don’t like it when people from my religion use icons, so I might as well be consistent and dislike iconography as a whole.

Interesting. I’ve thought for a long time that American Lutherans have done a disservice by not having more iconography in our newer sanctuaries

Jon

 

[Memaw]

Where did you hear that?

Where did you hear they were ever ordained??? God Bless, Memaw

 

[jediliz]

Alright, thank you telling me. But if so, then I think you should reread what you wrote in post 8, before too many more people read it.

In my diocese it would not work is what I should have said. We have some priests assigned to several rural parishes (within a small radius) out west. A married priest would not be able to work for this instance. Perhaps elsewhere, but in rural areas, no. My own parish has been assigned a second assistant because my pastor has a daily Mass at a cloistered convent and was overwhelmed since our own parish has two weekday daily Masses, one being with the school children. Our first assistant teaches at the Catholic high school. The second one, our bishop actually sent to India for.

The grand island diocese has a married priest, but his was a special case…he was a convert. And there was a widower who was ordained a priest in Omaha archdiocese who is now partially retired.

And speaking to Vic now…the Eucharist is the center of Mass. We can not stop speaking of it. And holy orders…vocations to the priesthood…well, we could not have Mass without that, could we?

 

[Memaw]

I can’t think of anything. If anything was changed, it wouldn’t be the Catholic Church as we know it anymore, would it?

The only thing that I hear sometimes from a few Catholics I know is that the bureaucratic red tape can be very long and tedious when the Catholic Church is deciding whether someone’s previous marriage was valid or not when they are seeking an annulment or seeking remarriage to someone else who has been previously married.

In other words, the gripe is not with the Catholic Church’s policy, but with the speed in which decisions are made.

We want what we want and we want if RIGHT NOW. Patience is a virtue. These things take time and must be studied very carefully. To many abuses could occur and that would be wrong too. God Bless, Memaw

 

[Nixbits]

The biggest change I would make: I would get rid of all Catholic faith schools. Children should be taught about religions - all the major religions - and should then make an informed decision around the age of 15 whether or not they wish to join one.

 

[Gorgias]

Mandatory celibacy is the number one barrier to young men entering the priesthood

It really isn’t. The fact that it’s a difficult, tiring job with little pay and lots of headaches is what keeps many from entering ministry. If you look at the statistics of the various denominations that allowed married men or women to their ordained ministries, you’ll find that many jumped in immediately and there was a spike of ‘vocations’, but that this spike went back down to the levels they were previously. Ministry is hard, nobody gets rich doing it, and it doesn’t have the societal ‘prestige’ it once did in our culture. It’s not about celibacy; ask those in other denominations why they don’t have a glut of ministers themselves…

, and removing the requirement for diocesan priests would solve that problem practically overnight.

It really wouldn’t. Ask this question of any married woman, and tell me if she thinks this sounds like a good deal for her marriage or her family: “do you mind if your husband leaves his job, enters a full-time course of study for six or eight years, and at the end of it enters a work environment in which he can be uprooted and sent to any arbitrary parish in the diocese at any time? All for very little pay? And being on-call 24/7/365?”

 

[TC3033]

I’ll probably catch flack, but in today’s age where mixed marriages are becoming more and more common, it would be nice if there was a way for the non-Catholic spouse to be more of a member in the Church/congregation, rather than an outsider.

Communion will never happen, but it would go along way to keeping these mixed marriage families in the Church if something could be figured out to make others feel more part of/welcome to be part of the Church even though they’re not Catholic.

 

[Peter_J]

I’ll probably catch flack, but in today’s age where mixed marriages are becoming more and more common, it would be nice if there was a way for the non-Catholic spouse to be more of a member in the Church/congregation, rather than an outsider.

Communion will never happen, but it would go along way to keeping these mixed marriage families in the Church if something could be figured out to make others feel more part of/welcome to be part of the Church even though they’re not Catholic.

That’s dependent on the specific parish: I believe there are some in which the non-Catholic spouse would be very welcome.

 

[TC3033]

That’s dependent on the specific parish: I believe there are some in which the non-Catholic spouse would be very welcome.

Yep, could be, and it’s possible some are. DYK what their practices were/are?

We’ve been a “member” in two and visited a couple others and as an observation it didn’t seem to be on the proverbial radar.

 

[Millie123]

The biggest change I would make: I would get rid of all Catholic faith schools. Children should be taught about religions - all the major religions - and should then make an informed decision around the age of 15 whether or not they wish to join one.

I had a comprehensive world religion class in my catholic high school.