Why Not?

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Carl_Erik

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Dear all,

I want to ask why and what you think, Why is it not accepted for one to become a Priest if one has a child?

In retro perspect to the question above, I want to ask and say that I belive that noone should be able to become a priest earlier then when his age reached 40 +

/Carl Erik
 
Carl - having a child does not stop one from becoming a Priest (although it appears most Bishops will not accept someone for ordination until the child has reached adulthood I don’t think this is a universal requirement).
 
There is a priest in my diocese who, prior to becoming a seminarian, was a widower with grown children. There was no impediment to him becoming a priest.
 
It’s a bad idea to have dependents when you become a priest.

Also, it’s more difficult to undergo formation if you’re older than, say, 40. Many priestly orders avoid admitting men who are too old.
 
A priest has a resposibilty for the church and Christ, a man, perhaps a few but not many are ready for priesthood and the tasks he stands before at an age before 40.

A child is dependent, all are dependent, that is why there is a church.
all are children to someone, the church is mother to all
 
If a man is a widower with grown children, the Latin Church may accept him to the priesthood as the children can take care of themselves. If its a small child, the Church may not ordain the man on grounds of the interest of the child.
 
Any baptized man can validly be ordained a priest (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1577) but the Latin-rite of the Catholic Church now normally chooses for priestly ordination only those men who live a celibate life and who intend to remain celibate “for the sake of the kingdom” (Matthew 19:12) for the reasons outlined by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 7:32-35, because such men can consecrate themselves with undivided heart to the Lord and “the affairs of the Lord.” (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1579)
 
The current discipline in the Latin-rite of the Catholic Church is that candidates for ordination as priests ordinarily must have completed their 25th year of age (Code of Canon Law, 1031) and candidates for ordination as bishops must have completed their 35th year of age and have been an ordained priest for at least 5 years. (Code of Canon Law, 378)
 
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