Priests, why can't they get married?

[JimG]

Who says priests aren’t paid salaries? They are. Secular priests are paid salaries. I think religious priests too if they do work for the diocese but they don’t keep the money and forward it to their Order instead.

I don’t know how things would be different if the priests were married. Most parishes I have come across have housing which can fit a family. Our Ukrainian parishes is the same way. In fact, one of our celibate priests was transferred to another part of the Eparchy and a married one with 2 kids moved into his previous parish and is now living in the house attached to that parish. Married priests need not be paid any different than celibate priests, the same way that programmers, doctors, lawyers, etc. are paid by their experience and qualification, not if they are married or not.

My parish has a rectory which houses three priests, and also provides them offices. It wouldn’t be large enough to accomodate families. As I mentioned before, we once had a married priest assigned to us. He was married, with twelve children. Obviously he did not live in the parish rectory.

Within the diocese, priests are also subject to being moved or assigned to different parishes every several years. That could be a lot of moves for a family to accomodate.

 

[Lapey]

That old argument again…
…allthough I wasn’t necessarily talking about ordaining women…
However, since you brought it up… we are all (women and men) equal in Christ by virtue of our baptism, therefore women should also be able to act “in persona Christi”

The women you mention above were wonderful leaders and saints we can certainly admire. They were often persecuted for their beliefs and sometimes disobeyed in order to bring about needed changes and reform.
Who today would you put in that category?

No, women cannot be men…sorry, old but acurate argument.

To the second question. My wife!!!

 

[twf]

That old argument again…
…allthough I wasn’t necessarily talking about ordaining women…
However, since you brought it up… we are all (women and men) equal in Christ by virtue of our baptism, therefore women should also be able to act “in persona Christi”

The women you mention above were wonderful leaders and saints we can certainly admire. They were often persecuted for their beliefs and sometimes disobeyed in order to bring about needed changes and reform.
Who today would you put in that category?

Women can act ‘in the person of Christ’ in the broad sense that we are all, by virtue of our baptisms and confirmations, called to share in the one baptismal priesthood of Christ…through prayer, penance, and most importantly, frequent reception of the sacraments, we are transformed into the image of Christ as adopted sons (and daughters) of God and are called to “be Christ” to our brothers and sisters - carrying out corporal and spiritual works of mercy pleasing to the Father as empowered by the grace of Christ. That being said, the ordained priest shares in the priestly ministry of Christ in a unique way. Men and women are equal in dignity, but God created gender for a reason - we have distinct roles in the body of Christ. During the divine liturgy/mass, the ordained priest acts in the place of Christ the groom - while the congregation represents His bride the Church. The mass is a foretaste of the mystical consumation of the marriage of the Lamb (Christ) and His bride the Church - the groom comes to us through the priest, His representative, and is received by the bride (the congregation) in the form of the Eucharist… it is not appropriate for the groom to be a woman. Our Lord deliberately chose 12 men to serve as his first ministerial priests. Our Blessed Lady is far greater than any priest, yet she was not given this particular ministry.

PS - I would add St. Hilegard to the list of women doctors - recently added by the Holy Father! St. Hilegard, favored and learned among women, pray for us!

 

[DCNBILL]

I know all the arguments, but imho - as a person who is moving to the Eastern church - they should have an option to marry. (The RC church views women as a hindrance instead of the help they can give.)

I’m glad there are deacons now. My Byzantine church has a wonderful deacon (married).
:twocents:

Please visit a local RC Church and go inside the church office, look around and see who is running things and then decide if you can still make this statement.

 

[vsedriver]

*The RC church views women as a hindrance instead of the help they can give.
*

True and I would add that The RC Church doesn’t believe women,although different, are equal in God’s eyes. The Church hierarchy doesn’t believe women can be leaders. Or…they are threatened by the possibility that women just might be better at leading the People of God.

That is false. The RC Church does believe women are equal to men. You are making suppositions based on what you believe equality means. Your issue isn’t with the Church but with Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

 

[vsedriver]

That old argument again…
…allthough I wasn’t necessarily talking about ordaining women…
However, since you brought it up… we are all (women and men) equal in Christ by virtue of our baptism, therefore women should also be able to act “in persona Christi”

you tend to confuse ‘equal’ with ‘same’. Women can’t act ‘in persona Christi’ because they are not men.

 

[liturgyluver]

1,000 years ago the Latin Rite Church made celibacy a requirement as opposed the 2,000 year old apostolic tradition of married priests. Is this true? What do you think of these arguments?

I think this is a very good question, and I notice that nobody yet has managed to explain the Church’s rationale for celibacy in the priesthood, and WHY they were changed when they were. I would really love to know the answer. I have even asked my Parish priest and he clearly did not know the historical position, nor gave a rational explanation.