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Ghosty
Guest
This simply isn’t true. Eastern priests are allowed to continue being husbands, and continue having children. The wife of the priest even has a special role in the parish community.
Peace and God bless!
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Peace and God bless!
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plh
Guest
That is a wonderful article.
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Brian_C
Guest
I have a hard enough time getting to RCIA meetings (I help with) on Tuesday nights. I can’t imagine having to carry out the priestly office being married with 2 kids (and one on the way)!
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Corki
Guest
Well, according to the article linked, optional celibacy was a later development in the Eastern Church, around 682 AD.
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VociMike
Guest
This is quite funny. Does this mean that if I work for General Motors that when I die my children will inherit my office in the GM building? Or my work tools? My parking space?
Where did this idea come from that a priest’s offspring could inherit Church property? Can the priest sell that property while he’s alive? Can he will it to his brothers and sisters if he is celibate and doesn’t have children? No, no, no. A few moments thought will show what a ridiculous idea this is. I’ll tell you where the idea comes from. It comes from anti-Catholic propaganda.
BTW, the Eastern Orthodox have married priests. Are they constantly losing Church property to the children of their priests? Umm, no they aren’t.
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Maureen_Fiore
Guest
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Psalm45_9
Guest
The Latin Rite has agreed to disagree on this point in an effort for reunification with the East. Again and again, read the article I posted, the Latin Rite has never stated that it agrees with the Eastern Churches allowing their priests and deacons to continue consumating their marriages. The Latin Rite states in its history that even when St. Paul writes about married clergy, he is implying that they must abstain from sex. Abstinence is the reason why manditory celibacy was issued.
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Psalm45_9
Guest
Thank you for reading the article, as I stated in the post previous, the church has agreed to disagree on this point when it comes to our Eastern Catholic breathern. According to our history, if we were to re-implement married priests, we must also re-implement the nazirite vow of abstinence. Which one is more “weird” in society’s eyes today? Having a young man of say 26 give his entire life to God and live single for the rest of his days. Or for him to find the girl of his dreams, they get married just before his ordination to the deaconate and then the two can never consumate their marriage and have a family of their own? Heck, the two can never even live together because of temptation.
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jimmy
Guest
You should do a little more research because your conclusion is false. Celibacy has been a rule since the earliest times of Christianity. Paul was celibate, Tertullian was celibate. Augustine, Ambrose, John Chrysostom and Basil all wrote defenses of celibacy(All fourth century saints). There were many others that wrote defenses of the practice. The reason had very little if anything to do with land. The newadvent.org article on celibacy does a good job of explaining the history of celibacy. It is a very long history and it has little to do with land.
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mercygate
Guest
The Latin Church has already ordained dozens of married clergy – convert ministers from Protestant denominations.
Take it from a former Episcopalian: canceling celibacy is NOT the solution.
Take it from a former Episcopalian: canceling celibacy is NOT the solution.
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JCPeacekeeper
Guest
1 Timothy 4:1-3 “But the Holy Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to decietful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, MEN WHO FORBID MARRIAGE and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.”
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mercygate
Guest
The Catholic Church does not forbid marriage. The discipline of celibacy is a gift for the few, as Our Lord notes in Matthew 19:11-12 when he discusses those who are “eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven.”
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mikew262
Guest
Sorry, but this is a weak argument. Many pastors and ministers of other Christian denominations are married and have families, yet do a fine job in running their church and ministering to their congregation.
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Titus
Guest
I agree. Especially given that the dioceses with the most vocations to the priesthood (and that’s really what we are talking about here) are the ones, like Lincoln, NE, which are very orthodox and affirm the Church’s teachings. Not the ones which make it up as they go long and try to conform to the standards of the here and now.
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palmas85
Guest
Pastors and ministers of other Christain denomination other than the Eastern Rite and Orthodox Churches are not the equivalent of Priests. To reduce a Priest to the level of a Protestant Minister is really a very disrespectful thing to do. The duties of the Priesthood a lot more involved than that of a Protestant Minister and require a much higher level of commitment. As far as married Pastors coming into the Catholic Church, I believe that the general idea is that these men are older, established somewhat and better able to handle the duties than would a younger married man.
Among the Orthodox and Eastern Rites there are very strict guidelines as to marriage for Priests… No marriage after Ordination for one, no married Bishops for another and if a Priest is widowed he cannot re-marry. Also, the wives of these Priests have to be involved in the decision and are actually somewhat prepared and educated for their roles. So even in those Churches that permit it, there are very specific guidelines involved. It is not a situation where everyone is automatically eligible to marry anytime they want as some here seem to believe…
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Corki
Guest
While it may be a weak argument, it is a valid one nonetheless. Pastors of other Christian denominations do not have the same time pressures that priests do mainly due to a different understanding of the Sacraments. Priests say daily Mass, are the only ones who can give Last Rites and hear Confessions at all hours of the day and night. This is bound to stress even the most stable marriage.
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connecian
Guest
I agree that they do a fine job running their church and ministering to their congregation. However, I also know quite a few Baptist pastors spouses, who wish that their husbands would devote more time to their family. With the understanding that their are many missed family opportunites growing up, such as recitals and plays. A friend of mine wishes that her husband was able to join them for family dinners, but was off often ministering to other people. She understands her role, and that she chose to marry a pastor.
However, he has missed several important moments in their lives.
To make a man choose between attending his childs’ first school play, or seeing it on video tape because he had to attend a meeting for the church heads, there would be a lot of missed opportunities in both lives. IMHO it could also lead to some hostile feelings from the children to the parent, if one parent is not there and most of the time off to help others.
Priest are on call 24/7 for last rites and emergencies. Most priest that I know, have scheduled events even on their day off.
I do not feel that it is a week argument. We are too often in society today talking about the lack of family time as it is. How can a minister or Priest preach about valued family time, if he is not home to eat dinner with his family on a regular basis?
First off: I am NOT a proponent for liberalizing the laws about the ordaination of married men to the Latin-rite priesthood.
But our pastor made the announcement two Sundays ago that a parishioner who had been an ordained Episcopalian minister prior to his family’s conversion to Catholicism has been accepted as a candidate for the priesthood. Understand that this man is near retiremement age and his children are all college age or older. As I understand it, he will be ordained a deacon next month and will require six months to a years worth of further formation prior to being ordained a priest. He will be assigned to our parish.
Now this is a man who has already had extensive education and training. He will not be looking for the priesthood to be a significant source of his income. His children are practically independent. His additional training will probably consist of learning the practical aspects of parish operations and administering the sacraments.
To the best of my knowledge there is not a large number of former high church protestant clergymen who have converted to Catholicism who are interested in ordination to the Catholic priesthood.
In the unlikely event that the Roman rite Church decided to further open the priesthood to married men I suspect She would only accept candidates who had already completed an undergraduate degree and had at least some graduate level studies in theology completed. I can’t imagine a young married man attending seminary full time. I would expect that a married candidate would be retired or expected to continue in his regular job as are permenant deacons today.
It should be interesting to see how our future priest ‘works out’.
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jimmy
Guest
You need to be set free with the truth. Apparently your knowledge of Catholicism is about 0.
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santaro75
Guest
Priests should be married. I can see the need for some orders to not marry. but I don’t see why an average parish priest that can administer the sacraments, preach, teach and run the church shouldn’t be married.
i will tell you right now that there would be many, many more priests if the church would allow marriage. Then the workload would be spread amongst many more people.
As for Paul and Jesus, they weren’t married. But Peter the First pope was married. And Jesus called many married men to be his first bishops so I dont’ think he has a problem with it.
i will tell you right now that there would be many, many more priests if the church would allow marriage. Then the workload would be spread amongst many more people.
As for Paul and Jesus, they weren’t married. But Peter the First pope was married. And Jesus called many married men to be his first bishops so I dont’ think he has a problem with it.
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