I am currently taking RCIA classes at a parish near my house. The church is run by Jesuits. Anyways, last week a priest came to class to discuss the structure of the church. He went on to say that priests should be able to marry and women should be deacons and that the current pope was just “too old” to change.
I feel like he was trying to present a view of the church that was more palatable for potential converts. On the other hand, he is entitled to his opinion. I felt kind of off-put by the whole thing. I kind of wish I were doing the RCIA class somewhere else. Maybe I should just focus on the other things they are teaching in class. Any advice?
That is very unfortunate.
He is, of course, entitled to his opinion about whether Priests should be permitted to marry. That is a practice and tradition of the Church, but it is not a Doctrine and could conceivably be changed (though I think it is quite unlikely to). He is free to express his opinion, but he should have done so in a way that made it clear that it was his
opinion only, and he also should have explained in a fair way why the Church maintains the discipline of celibacy for Priests (even though he personally disagrees with it). That’s part of his responsibility as a teacher and a Priest.
However, women cannot be Deacons and the Church has been very clear that it has no authority to ordain women with Holy Orders at any level (Deacon, Priest, or Bishop). This is a matter of Doctrine, and it will not change. Again, all who teach RCIA (including Priests) have a responsibility to explain this clearly, in obedience to the Church and for the spiritual well-being of RCIA students. We should be very careful not to lead anybody into error or to give people erroneous impressions that matters of doctrine can change. Part of why I’m Catholic is because the Church’s doctrines don’t change with the wind!
It may well be a go idea to try and find a more orthodox parish near you to go through RCIA, if possible…at least if this Priest is involved in teaching the program. If he was just a one-time visitor, then perhaps it would be premature to leave. In fact, if he was just a one-time visitor, you might consider mentioning your concerns to the RCIA director or even the pastor. They have responsibility for teaching you all correctly (speaking as an RCIA director myself).
But if they are the problem, well, there’s not much you can do other than go somewhere else. I hope you are able to find a place that values an accurate teaching of the faith. God bless you!
