The Vatican and married priests

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More than 400 married Anglicans who converted to Cathlocism have been so far ordained as priests by the Vatican. Many people ask why does the Vatican allow non-Catholic ministers to enjoy the right of marriage life and also become priests, while the faithful Catholic priests are not allowed to even think about marriage, lest the Vatican ousts them.

It has been reported that there are a lot of cases where priests left their parishes because the church rejected their need to get married. These parishes were in afflicted countries where christianity is under threat such as Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan etc.
I think that if the Vatican was to make an exception in allowing priests to get married, priority should be for those serving in these countries because of the dire need of their presence and service.

Many people like myself would like an answer from the Vatican. Does anybody know who and how can I contact the Vatican, even through an email?
 
Before contacting the Vatican you might want to get a few things straight. The Anglicans that were ordained were already married, and if their spouses should die they would not be allowed to remarry. Any man who believes he is called to the priesthood knows going in that it is a life of celibacy, and no one puts a gun to any man’s back to make him take those vows. And finally, if the Vatican believed it a good thing for the Church to have a married priesthood, it would implement it. There isn’t a shortage of priests because of celibacy but because of cultural and societal pressures upon young people to satisfy all their desires outside of any considerations of morals or law. We need holy families bringing up holy young people not a married priesthood.
 
The procedure for non-Catholic ministers to convert and receive valid Holy Orders is called the Pastoral Provision, and it is no easy process. It has never been the intention for the Pastoral Provision to be a sort of back door to married Catholic priests. In fact, a Catholic who leaves the Church, gets married and becomes a clergyman in another faith tradition is specifically barred from being received under the Pastoral Provision.

Keep in mind, not all diocese even permit priests to serve who have successfully completed the process. There are many, many factors to look at. Proper positions for priests who are married within the diocese, financial compensation that would support a priest with a family, etc, etc.

I understand the concerns with this situation, but I was fortunate enough to meet one of the first priests who was ordained under the Pastoral Provision and he is as good a priest as they come. Trust me, these priests know the gravity of their decision and are not looking to rock the boat.

Our seminaries are growing, more men are considering the call and it is becoming more common among young people to seriously investigate the religious life. God is hearing our call for more priests.

Have faith and keep praying.
 
The first pope, St. Peter, was married. Most of Jesus disciples were married. For one thousand years, priests were allowed to be married. It was only in 1036, when the church changed its laws and imposed celibacy, this man-made condition, on every priest as it did not want to bear the expenses of the families of the priests.

In your opinion, does it desecrate a priest who loves to serve the people and teaches love, to love his wife? You say that no body put a gun for him to take the vows. What happens if after years of priesthood, he suddenly felt the unquestionable urge of marrying? Do you know that in our days, there are thousands of priests who are suffering because of this law, yet can’t leave their priesthood because they don’t want to be outcasts. Many of them are having secret love affairs with religious women [believe it or not] who only want marriage but can’t have it. This is not a one case. I am talking about thousands of cases.

I understand that you want to preserve the celibacy in the church; But it should be a choice not a mandate, just like how it was 1000 years ago.

Another note: Semi-official sources say that the Vatican will consider allowing Catholic priests to marry in one or two decades time and that one of the reasons why it accepted married Anglican priests [since 1980], was to test and see if a priest can manage a life of serving his parish while married. And yes these priests are doing great.
 
The celibate priesthood is a tradition of the Church and is under the jurisdiction of the Papacy. John Paul the Great saw fit to allow for a married priesthood within the Eastern Rites of the Church - though marriage has to precede Holy Orders and must be approved by the priest-to-be’s bishop. However, this tradition is not within the hands of the lay faithful, or anyone else other than His Holiness. Any desire for a married priesthood would best manifest itself as prayers to Our Lord.

Dominus vobiscum.
 
Respectfully, people have been saying the Vatican will be reversing the celibacy requirement any day now for hundreds of years. I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.

As someone in the application process to the seminary, I can speak to the fact that partly what drew me to seriously consider the religious life was that it is a life of sacrifice and one that not every man is able to do. The priesthood is not a job a man can walk away from after 5 o’clock. Priests are on call 24/7/365. Having a family to compete for time and attention of a priest is an extreme obstacle, which is why so many of the priests under the Pastoral Provision have children who are older or already grown.

It’s a sad cliche to think how ever many priests are engaged in relationships with women religious. It demeans both parties, in my opinion. It should also be noted that priests aren’t meant to be other Peters. We are meant to be the Other Christ, who was celibate and gave himself fully to the service of God and humanity in his ministry, to say nothing of his sacrifice for the sins of all mankind.
 
Pax_Domini said:
The first pope, St. Peter, was married. Most of Jesus disciples were married. For one thousand years, priests were allowed to be married. It was only in 1036, when the church changed its laws and imposed celibacy, this man-made condition, on every priest as it did not want to bear the expenses of the families of the priests.

In your opinion, does it desecrate a priest who loves to serve the people and teaches love, to love his wife? You say that no body put a gun for him to take the vows. What happens if after years of priesthood, he suddenly felt the unquestionable urge of marrying? Do you know that in our days, there are thousands of priests who are suffering because of this law, yet can’t leave their priesthood because they don’t want to be outcasts. Many of them are having secret love affairs with religious women [believe it or not] who only want marriage but can’t have it. This is not a one case. I am talking about thousands of cases.

I understand that you want to preserve the celibacy in the church; But it should be a choice not a mandate, just like how it was 1000 years ago.

. . .]
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1 Corinthians 7
32 I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; 33 but the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman or girl is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please her husband. 35 I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.

And not to get too personal, but your “holier than thou” attitude is a bit off-putting (as if the Church’s discipline was for reasons fiscal rather than of the faith - hmmppphh).

Otherwise, welcome to CAF (where we try not to be our own Popes)! 😃
 
It has been proven in many instances that a priest can actually do a much better job when he has a wife whp supports him and even helps him in his service.

Let’s face it. Nobody can be like Jesus. Jesus is God and does not need to marry. We are not Gods. St. Peter wasn’t either. Jesus never literally have ordered his followers not to marry. It was St. Paul who encouraged celebacy but he also said: “better to marry than to burn” - which in Paul’s case, it also means that celebecy for a man of religion should be an option not a mandate. Moreover, why would we heed Paul’s words and ignore St. Peter’s married life? Isn’t Peter the rock of the church? In fact the Pope himself can today be allowed to marry, following St. Peter’s life. Again, Peter is a man. Jesus is God. We can try to be saints, but not a God.

By saying that we should be like Jesus and not marry, is like encouraging any man or woman who loves God to look down at marriage.
 
Pax_Domini said:
. . .By saying that we should be like Jesus and not marry, is like encouraging any man or woman who loves God to look down at marriage.
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Sorry, but that simply does not make any sense.

What does the highlighted portion of verse 12 below mean to you?

Matthew 19
11 But he said to them, “Not all men can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it.”

Then again, not all men can receive this sort of thing…:whistle:

(sorry, I’m being flippant and should not be…)
EDIT: (at least till you’ve been here awhile!)
 
Pax_Domini said:
It has been proven in many instances that a priest can actually do a much better job when he has a wife whp supports him and even helps him in his service.

Let’s face it. Nobody can be like Jesus. Jesus is God and does not need to marry. We are not Gods. St. Peter wasn’t either. Jesus never literally have ordered his followers not to marry. It was St. Paul who encouraged celebacy but he also said: “better to marry than to burn” - which in Paul’s case, it also means that celebecy for a man of religion should be an option not a mandate. Moreover, why would we heed Paul’s words and ignore St. Peter’s married life? Isn’t Peter the rock of the church? In fact the Pope himself can today be allowed to marry, following St. Peter’s life. Again, Peter is a man. Jesus is God. We can try to be saints, but not a God.

By saying that we should be like Jesus and not marry, is like encouraging any man or woman who loves God to look down at marriage.
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You are certainly very knowledgeable on this topic. Could you help me by providing some of that proof you reference in your first sentence? Some rigorous, controlled studies and citations from orthodox, Catholic sources would be great.

Regarding the fact that we are not gods, I wasn’t aware that any posters were arguing for that point. We are absolutely not. Again we are in agreement.

Sadly, where we must part is that I voluntarily place myself under the teaching and discipline of the Holy Church and the Vicar of Christ, the Pope. That discipline, taught to the Church by the Pope acting as the voice of God, says that except for the limited circumstances we have already discussed, priests are to be celibate–unmarried. If God, through the Pope, announces a change, I will be among the first to invite priests and priest’s spouses over for dinner.

Paul
 
Oh. And I just noticed this:
Pax_Domini said:
. . .It was St. Paul who encouraged celebacy. . .
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Is Saint Paul, then, the “man” you referenced back in Post #4?
Pax_Domini said:
. . .It was only in 1036, when the church changed its laws and imposed celibacy, this man-made condition, on every priest as it did not want to bear the expenses of the families of the priests. . .
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If so, then I’m okay with that.😛
 
Here are some facts about married catholic priests:
fathervince.home.att.net/mpfacts.htm

(Matt 19:12) '… some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of God. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it"… So is Jesus hinting that St. Peter or all the other married disciples were not in line with him as they did not renounce marriage and refused the gift of God? I don’t think so. I think he is just saying that who ever wants to do something good, let him do it, as long as it is for the sake of kingdom of God, including celibacy. Likewise, if a priest thinks that by getting married, he will serve better, then he is also doing it for the sake of God’s kingdom. Again, he is not saying that if a priest wants to marry, he should be kicked from the church… He never mandated it. Celibacy should be an option.
 
Man-made condition - no, i did not mean Paul. Paul never Imposed this condition or made celibacy a Must for priesthood. He just said it was better.
 
I agree that this is completely under the discretion of the Vatican, but it is true that in the East, priests can marry and then take Holy Orders. It would be very disruptive to our parishes if all (or most) of our priests were married because the logistics would be different (especially with large families). I personally think it might be a good thing, but certainly wouldn’t strongly suggest it because it doesn’t seem to encourage more seminarians (as in the Episcopal church which is having trouble getting seminarians from what I have read - sorry can’t remember the source) and would require a huge adjustment to those in the West (who are used to being able to monopolize our priests 🙂 ).

Someone jokingly said to me recently that it wouldn’t do any good because no woman in her right mind would want a husband to have the responsibilities of a priest and have to share him with a parish 😛
 
Pax_Domini said:
Here are some facts about married catholic priests:
fathervince.home.att.net/mpfacts.htm
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“Father” Vince is a guy who spent some cash at a liturgical supply shop. Please take a look at his FAQ. He is ordained by the International Council of Community Churches–“The International Council of Community Churches (ICCC) is a Christian denomination of ecumenically co-operating mainline Protestants and Independent Catholics based in Frankfort, Illinois, in the United States.” Link here.

Nice link he has on his home page to “rent a priest”, too.

Bottom line, the Church and Vicar of Christ say no to married clergy except in limited situations. If that changes, I’m sure they will let us know. If you are not a Catholic, you are free to believe whatever you like. If you are a Catholic, you are bound by the Church’s teaching.

Paul
 
kage_ar said:
A link to some blog is not a valid, authoritative, official source.

Try again, please.
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I agree - especially THAT blog.

I got only as far as the first sentence and knew it was not worth reading (though I may check it out later, time allowing):One out of every three Roman Catholic priests in the United States has transitioned from celibacy to the married priesthood.Right. Of the 25-30 priests I’ve known in my life, only one left the priesthood to marry.

I must be leading a sheltered life…
 
Pope Paul VI argued in his 1967 encyclical, Sacerdotalis Caelibatus, that celibacy is “not required by the nature of the priesthood itself”.
 
Pax_Domini said:
Pope Paul VI argued in his 1967 encyclical, Sacerdotalis Caelibatus, that celibacy is “not required by the nature of the priesthood itself”.
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Did you actually read the encyclical? Pope Paul VI lays out the arguments for and against celibacy and concludes that it is best for the priesthood. Did you miss this:

*Once moral certainty has been obtained that the maturity of the candidate is sufficiently guaranteed, he will be in a position to take on himself the heavy and sweet burden of priestly chastity as a total gift of himself to the Lord and to His Church.

In this way, the obligation of celibacy, which the Church makes a condition of Holy Orders, is accepted by the candidate through the influence of divine grace and with full reflection and liberty, and, as is evident, not without the wise and prudent advice of competent spiritual directors who are concerned not to impose the choice, but rather to dispose the candidate to make it more consciously. Hence, in that solemn moment when the candidate will decide once and for his whole life, he will not feel the weight of an imposition from outside, but rather the interior joy that accompanies a choice made for the love of Christ.* [Emphasis, mine.]

You still haven’t provided any “proof” of the superiority of a married clergy and you certainly haven’t given any indication that an orthodox, Church source approves it. And you won’t, because there are none.

Look, you’ve argued yourself into a corner. There’s no shame in saying, “I was wrong about the Church’s teaching.” We’ve all done it. We all learn. But to not admit it when you are wrong, that is truly the mark of a fool.

Paul
 
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