Pope Francis – married men could be ordained priests if world's bishops agree on it

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adawgj said:
I’d say they could become priests if they don’t have children or they have grown up.

I don’t think married men should become religious priests. Especially since most religious orders take vows of celibacy.
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Again, could be ignorance on my part, but I agree that I think it more prudent if the children are grown. I know a terrific married priest who is a convert, but he rarely sees his wife. His children are mostly grown. I think it’s important for the general layman to see the value of celibacy, especially in our over-sexed culture. I guess my biggest concern is the loss of appreciation for it. (I’m married, so I see the value in marriage too. 🙂 )
 
HappyCatholic01 said:
They haven’t been for the last 50-60 years or so.

Not sure what allowing Priests to marry has to do with countering lay Catholic’s ability to preach the gospel.
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Most priests I know have their hands full taking care of their flock(s), or are constantly racing from parish to parish. How much time do they spend on evangelism? Very little. They don’t have any time, because they are being stretched FAR too thin.

The Church needs evangelists. This has NEVER been primarily the task of laypeople – though of course we laypeople must pitch in. But right now the missionary orders are being gobbled up by bishops to be pastors at parishes, and that is frankly outrageous. Missionaries need to be on mission. Mind you, I don’t blame the bishops or the monks, but I do think that the priest shortage presents a HUGE problem with respect to evangelism.
I suspect there is a presumption that married priests will see an end to the Priest shortage. Other objections aside, what evidence is there of this?
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That’s a good question. But I don’t think any of us know the answer. It seems like there might be ways to find out – polling Catholic men?
If so, guess what - they either weren’t being called by God anyway, or simply ignored His call because it wasn’t on their terms. They don’t sound like ideal candidates as servants of Christ, frankly.
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Gee, ever hear of grace? Look through the pages of the Old Testament, and just about every prophet or patriarch at some point ignored or rejected God’s call. God used them anyway, and brought them to repentance.
 
Della said:
I’d be fine with it if it can be made to work, not that my opinion matters. 😛 My only reservation is how the families of married priests will function in parish life. Ask the Protestant ministers how hard it is to be a minister, a husband, and a father. Ask the wives how hard it is to have to take a backseat to the needs of the congregation, and the children, as well.

It’s not the equivalent of being a doctor or other profession that demands a lot of the person’s time because doctor’s wives and children are not set on pedestals from which they are expected to be perfect examples of family life. In practice, the priest’s family cannot/dare not make mistakes or be fallible like everyone else. It would be a great burden to bring a family into the priesthood, no doubt about that. The example of broken marriages and wild PKs is evidence of this.

I’m just saying the idea is full of difficulties. I can see retired couples doing it or ones with older children, perhaps, but it would still be hard. The whole family would have to be on board and the parish would have to be willing to let them all be people like they are instead of expecting perfection when they don’t demand it of themselves.
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👍

I heard, on CA radio, an eastern Catholic priest expressing his uncomfortableness with his having a family for just these reasons. He especially spoke of his wife resenting the fact that she came third (God, parish, wife) with his sense of importance/his prioritization. They didn’t even have children. I wonder what it was like since he probably has by now. I hadn’t even considered schools and friends. Poor kids!
 
How wonderful it would be for priests to have the same freedom as the rest of us to follow our hearts. I have often felt sad for the loneliness that many of these men have endured.
 
Janechantal53 said:
How wonderful it would be for priests to have the same freedom as the rest of us to follow our hearts. I have often felt sad for the loneliness that many of these men have endured.
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No one is considering allowing priests to marry. They are considering allowing married men to become priests.

And as for following one’s heart, that is precisely what priests already have done. Their hearts led them into the arms of Christ, who is a far better lover than any wife could be. :rolleyes:
 
RPRPsych said:
Let’s not get too excited. This is an “in principle” discussion during a private audience. I doubt it will lead to anything; besides, the “all bishops must agree” rider seems to be a Jesuitical way of saying “that’s not very likely.” The Pope has a sense of humour. 😃
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I agree. Many a slip between the cup and the lip.
But consider the possible reality. One unmarried Parish Priest supported by two unpaid married priests that work as usual in their own professions and raise their families. However the Parish priest runs the Parish with the Parish Council, which would normally include the two married priests. They are allocated liturgical duties; masses, baptisms; funerals; visiting the sick with the last rites. Hear confessions at the local hospitals and nursing homes. Becoming active in the local schools they are a good example of real worker priests.
Their main responsibility is to their family and to their own employment, but act for the Church as three men when one would be pushed to the limits. They may get their petrol costs and other outgoings accepted by the Parish Council as befitting recompense.
I think this model would work.
 
Prodigal_Son said:
No one is considering allowing priests to marry. They are considering allowing married men to become priests.

And as for following one’s heart, that is precisely what priests already have done. Their hearts led them into the arms of Christ, who is a far better lover than any wife could be. :rolleyes:
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Yes, I do understand the difference between married men becoming priests and priests who have already committed to their celibacy. How many priests do you know on a deeply personal level? Yes, they suffer. The love of Christ is paramount, but it is not the same thing as having human spouse. Rolling your eyes is what, a sign of your superiority?
 
The Pope was not talking about priest getting married, it was about married men becoming priest, we need to make that clear because to issued our very different.I too now many priest as I have worked in a Catholic Jesuit school for 20 years. As far as the Jesuit stand and I would include Pope Francis in that, they a married man becoming a Jesuit priest because their lives our built around the small communities they live and a wife or a family unit would change the whole dynamic of what the Jesuits our based on, so I don’t think the Pope has any want or plans to allow priests to some day marry.

I believe in has been thrown around before that the first to be considered would be married deacons of the Catholic church as their lives already revolve around having a main job and includes the rest of their time spent helping the Church. Their wives and families already know the sacrifices it entails. I know some deacon that would jump at the chance to be priest and others that would never even consider it.

All the deacons I grew up with are still active deacons in the Church after 40 years; however, I have seen more than a few priest live the priesthood for all different reason.
:confused:
 
I think all of us will encounter different forms of loneliness, married or not. I have!
 
Janechantal53 said:
Yes, I do understand the difference between married men becoming priests and priests who have already committed to their celibacy. How many priests do you know on a deeply personal level? Yes, they suffer. The love of Christ is paramount, but it is not the same thing as having human spouse. Rolling your eyes is what, a sign of your superiority?
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I was rolling my eyes at the notion of following one’s heart. For the most part, I think that when we follow our hearts, we go precisely in the wrong direction. “Follow your heart” is good advice for those whose hearts are in the right place. For the rest of us, we should do anything other than follow our hearts.

Case in point: If I followed my heart right now, I would be an adulterer.

Sinful hearts point in the wrong direction.

As for priests, of course they suffer. The biggest reason they suffer is that they are expected to live alone, or with maybe one other person. That is awful. They need love and companionship and intimacy, yes. But they can get that from friends. Our culture seems to think that intimacy is something reserved for married people, but it’s not.
 
Prodigal_Son said:
**I was rolling my eyes at the notion of following one’s heart. For the most part, I think that when we follow our hearts, we go precisely in the wrong direction. “Follow your heart” is good advice for those whose hearts are in the right place. For the rest of us, we should do anything other than follow our hearts.

Case in point: If I followed my heart right now, I would be an adulterer.

Sinful hearts point in the wrong direction.**

As for priests, of course they suffer. The biggest reason they suffer is that they are expected to live alone, or with maybe one other person. That is awful. They need love and companionship and intimacy, yes. But they can get that from friends. Our culture seems to think that intimacy is something reserved for married people, but it’s not.
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I think this is a really good point 👍
 
My parish has four priests and I’m sure if they had families too they’d either be neglecting something or have died of exhaustion by now.

My wife’s Protestant friend is getting married by her mother’s “pastor”. The friend was supposed to have already done some kind of pre-marriage class but the pastor has had to cancel multiple times because of a children’s basketball tournament, somebody was sick, and some other “family” issues.
 
Since when has a pope been able to get the world’s bishops to do anything positive for the church in the last century? Try and try again, they haven’t even been able to accomplish Mary’s request to consecrate Russia, a task that could literally take 5 minutes.
 
ARSpade said:
My parish has four priests and I’m sure if they had families too they’d either be neglecting something or have died of exhaustion by now.

My wife’s Protestant friend is getting married by her mother’s “pastor”. The friend was supposed to have already done some kind of pre-marriage class but the pastor has had to cancel multiple times because of a children’s basketball tournament, somebody was sick, and some other “family” issues.
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We have a married priest at our parish. He was allowed to convert from Episcopal. He also has two children. That is why they should allow deacon the right to decide first because they already know the work load and commitment they would have as do their family.

I have known many priests and know that many are lonely, even when they live in a community like the Jesuits do. They are put together with no say in who they live with and they sometime really just don’t click with one another. in fact, sometimes they really do like each other at all. If they are close with their own family, they do much better.

It really would depend on what kind of life the married men had before they became a priest. If they worked long hours before, running around from here to there, it might not seem like such a change. Many of the coaches and teachers I work with work from 7 am to late into the night almost everyday. Their spouse don’t see them all that often, but it is like a military life, you have to work together and adjust.
 
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