Priests with disabilities?

[AussieCatholic]

Hi everyone

I’m considering pursuing a career within the church. Ultimately I would love to join the seminary and eventually become a priest. There’s only one snag, I have a visual disability. I’m not blind but there are some limitations on what I can do, for instance I’m not able to hold a drivers license.

What is the church’s stance on this? Is the church likely to ordain anyone in my position?

Thanks

 

[puzzleannie]

there is not a particular stance on disabilities. The factors that would be impediments to ordination are listed in canon law, which I do not have available. Obviously the candidate must be able to perform the duties of a priest, and when I assisted on a diocesan discernment committee, such problems were judged on an individual basis. There might be a challenge, for instance, in finding a good fit with a seminary which can provide necessary assistance. I do recall one seminarian for a religious order who was in a wheelchair, but don’t know if his was a permanent disability. He was already in a monastery so presumably they were set up to accommodate his needs. The best bet is to contact the director of vocations for your diocese.

 

[1ke]

Contact your diocesan vocations director, and also the director of any order you might be interested in pursuing. They will guide you as to what canonical impediments are and are not, as well as any other criteria that they impose above and beyond Canon Law.