should Catholic priests be allowed to marry?

[kage_ar]

sparkle:

I totally SEE the reason for Priests remaining unmarried.

Having a dad a Pastor, and feeling the neglect, and others I know whose Dad’s are also pastors, and all the chaos it has caused in their lives, I have come to believe, THERE IS A PURPOSE FOR PRIESTS REMAINING CELIBATE.
You cannot be married to a wife and family AND married to a church.

SO…there is a reason for this discipline, although many still disagree.

I could not agree more, those who want married priests need to spend time as the wife/child of a minister.

Imagine for a moment that your wife is in bed with a horrible raging flu, fever, chills, you name it. The kids who are not also sick need fed, bathed and looked after (let’s say a 2 and 4 year old). Your boss calls at 11 PM and says that there is something has come up at work and you must be there within 15 minutes. You would look at your sick wife and family and tell your boss to find someone else - right? Well, imagine the same situation, yet your job is as the sole priest for a 100 mile radius. The phone call is from a parishoner needing last rites…

God does not force those called to the Priesthood to ever make those choices, and does not want to put a wife and children through that trial…

 

[TarAshly]

whats a Byzanite Catholic? i also at one point considered becoming a nun, my mom was supportive, my dad not so much he wanted me to get married make babies and money. i probably would have had i not met my fiance. no regrets though, God just intended me to be married. thats a vocation as well, wifehood and motherhood.

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

kage_ar:

I could not agree more, those who want married priests need to spend time as the wife/child of a minister.

Imagine for a moment that your wife is in bed with a horrible raging flu, fever, chills, you name it. The kids who are not also sick need fed, bathed and looked after (let’s say a 2 and 4 year old). Your boss calls at 11 PM and says that there is something has come up at work and you must be there within 15 minutes. You would look at your sick wife and family and tell your boss to find someone else - right? Well, imagine the same situation, yet your job is as the sole priest for a 100 mile radius. The phone call is from a parishoner needing last rites…

God does not force those called to the Priesthood to ever make those choices, and does not want to put a wife and children through that trial…

While I understand this argument I do not think those who make it really know the Church.

This is just a discipline.

Up until the 4th century married men were ordained to the priesthood. The Eastern Churches have always had a married priesthood.

When you make the arguments that you do you seem to belittle our traditions. I know a couple of people who are children of priests and they do not feel neglected nor have any said that they father never had time for the family. Now they might not have had the summer home or the second car but they were well taken care of.

In the Eastern Churches many of our vocations come from these families.

I do not buy your argument, nor do I buy the opposite argument on how can a celibate priest counsel on marriage.

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

TarAshly:

whats a Byzanite Catholic? i also at one point considered becoming a nun, my mom was supportive, my dad not so much he wanted me to get married make babies and money. i probably would have had i not met my fiance. no regrets though, God just intended me to be married. thats a vocation as well, wifehood and motherhood.

A Byzantine Catholic, in my case, means that I am a member of the Byzantine (Ruthenian) Catholic Church.

You may not be aware of this but the Catholic Church is made up of 22 separate Churches that are in communion with the Pope in Rome.

The Latin (or Roman) Catholic Church, while the largest, is just one of these 22 Churches.

 

[kage_ar]

ByzCath:

When you make the arguments that you do you seem to belittle our traditions. /QUOTE]

In no way do I belittle those traditions, my own grandfather was a minster, my father an evangleist. Those children and wives of full time ministers make more sacrifices than I will ever be asked to make.

It is a hard sacrifice to make…

 

[FightingFat]

We have a number of proselyte priests who are married in my diocese. I think they fit in rather well.

This is a difficult question, I kind of hope that eventually priests may be able to marry.

 

[La_Chiara]

FightingFat:

We have a number of proselyte priests who are married in my diocese. I think they fit in rather well.

What is a “proselyte priest”?

 

[SDA2RC]

I think the whole question is based on a false premise… Catholic Priests can marry, they CHOOSE live celebate else they wouldnt be priest’s.



Brandon

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

FightingFat:

We have a number of proselyte priests who are married in my diocese. I think they fit in rather well.

This is a difficult question, I kind of hope that eventually priests may be able to marry.

Yes, what is a “proselyte” priest?

Priests will never be allowed to be married.

The whole issue is if married men should be ordained to the priesthood.

Currently the answer is no in the Latin Catholic Church and yes in the Eastern Catholic Churches.

Now this is only for the diocesean (or eparchial) priesthood. Those in the religious life have to be celibate.

As has been said already, there are many priests in the Latin Church that are married as they are converts who were ministers/clergy, in denominations that allowed this but… None of them were ever Catholics because it is not acceptable to leave the Church to become a married mininster and then return so you can “cheat” your way into being a married priest.

 

[Detroit_Sue]

SeekerJen:

I do see the reason for not ordaining young married men to the priesthood (or even the diaconate). Providing for and raising children is enough of a job.

Like I said above though, once the children are grown and the finances are set, why not allow men to be ordained as priests? We have two deacons in our parish (one ordained just a few weeks ago)- both married with adult children and retired from their careers. Both would make terrific priests (if they so desired), especially since they no longer have the demands of young children or a career to deal with, and since their wives are already supportive of their call to ordained ministry.

Jen, as the wife of a deacon, I fully agree. My husband is not retired, but our kids are grown. If I die first, both he and I are hoping he will be accepted into the priesthood. A deacon that was ordained a couple of years before my husband lost his wife, and he is now in his 2nd year of theology at SHMS. I don’t remember his exact words, but Bp. Boyea told us that the best gift a woman can give the Church is her husband. He would have been unable to keep up with this pace had our children been young - something would have suffered.

Who is your new deacon? Steve Bussa? He’s a good man. Got a good parish, too!