Will the Church abolish mandatory celibacy?

[thistle]

Please give evidence showing that I’ve stated the Church consideres married preists as lesser priests. Or show me were YOU think I’ve implied this.

The first time you accused me of saying the Church thinks married priests are lesser priests.

Read your post #106! It is clear you are suggesting a married man will not make a good priest.

 

[RyanBlack]

What I’m saying is the Church prefers priests to be single and celibate.
The Church allows (under certain circumstances) married men to become priests. She prefers priest to be celibate.

This is a very western-centered statement that needs some serious qualifying.

The Church in the West certainly prefers priests to be celibate–that is obvious. This is not the case for the Church in the East, where married priests are the norm, not a permitted exception.

 

[Mike30]

Celibacy means not getting married. Continence means not having sexual relations.

OK. Celebacy means not having sexual relations also. I looked it up. So in that case, since the statement I was referring to said specifically that the easterns had never adopted celebacy, why don’t they allow already ordained Priests and Bishops to marry?.

Obviously they have accepted celebacy and even require it for some.

 

[Corki]

OK. Celebacy means not having sexual relations also. I looked it up. So in that case, since the statement I was referring to said specifically that the easterns had never adopted celebacy, why don’t they allow already ordained Priests and Bishops to marry?.

Obviously they have accepted celebacy and even require it for some.

Where did you look it up? Webster’s?

This is a religious term. Thistle already provided you with the **Catholic **definition.

The Eastern Churches never adopted the requirement that priests must be unmarried (celibate).

The Church, both East and West, have always held that once ordained, the man’s focus must be on the Church and not on dating or finding a wife. Even in the East, married priests may not be Bishops. Bishops are raised from among the celibate (unmarried) priests.

 

[Patchunky]

In my personal opinion, men call to the priesthood are called to be (name removed by moderator)ersona Christi and therefore are called to be examples of Christ on earth. I think it would be unChristlike for a man to not dedicate himself completely to the church as a celibate man. This also lays a huge burden on a man to provide fully for his wife, but also for his flock.

Although the doctrine of married priest is theologically sound, the discipline of celibate clergy/religious life in my opinion is the greatest life giving sacrifice an individual can make for the good of the Church, devoting their entire being to the work of the salvation of souls as instruments of the Church.

One of my best friend’s is a priest, his brother is a married priest, his father is a priest, his grandfather was a priest and his sister is a Basilian nun. Oh, his father was ordained a priest in Ukraine during the Communist persecution of the Church there. I would say this famiily is an excellent example of instruments of the Church!

 

[otjm]

I think this is a great point that is often completely absent from discussions about priestly celibacy (at least, external discussions like this one). Catholics would have to increase their giving substantially in order to support a slew of married priests and their families.

That’s why I have trouble understanding it when people pitch the idea of married priests as though it would solve all problems in the Church.

Considering that the Mormons (those, at least, who want a temple recommend) give a literal tithe - 10%, and b=about another 2% to their charity organization(s). Catholic giving is around 2%. Not an impossible task in the least.

And in most circumstances I have witnessed over the last 60+ years, where there is a clearly defined need, parishes come through.

And currently we are managing with the married priest we have in the Roman rite.

 

[otjm]

One possible risk that I can see in married priests is that this might be the beginning of there being families and dynasties of priests. In Hinduism this has happened to some extent with the priests setting themselves off as a caste unto themselves which it is very difficult to get into if not by birth. If you want priests to continue to be of the people and for the people, they must continue to come from the people.

You may think, that’s not really comparable. Surely, anybody who is baptised and confirned a Catholic can apply to go to a seminary, and candidates are selected there on personal merits. But imagine a mediocre candidate having a distinguished priest or a bishop or even a pope as a father. Will the director of the seminary be able to turn that young man away? There is a risk he would sign him on to avoid friction with his superiors, and turn down a better but less distinguished candidate in his place. And thus starts the thin edge of the wedge.

You are positing a non-problem. There are any number of examples in the Eastern rites of grandfather being priest, and father and son. the world does not turn upside down.

Further, even if a married pries’s son wished to be ordained, he would still need to be accepted to a seminary, get the degree(s), and be accepted for ordination. I disagree that a faculty and a bishop would be so cowed as to ordain an improper candidate.

 

[babochka]

I think it needs to be pointed out that while the Eastern Churches and the Orthodox as well do allow married Priests they do not allow Priests to marry. A man can be ordained if he is already married, however if he is ordained and wants to then get married, it will not be allowed. Also, if a Priest is married and his wife dies he cannot re-marry. Maybe one of the Eastern could chime in if I am wrong, but I don’t believe that married Priests are allowed to become Bishops either…

So while celibacy is not quite the same in the Eastern Churches it is still a very, very big thing.

This is true and traditionally Bishops were selected, not just from those who were unmarried, but from those who had taken monastic vows. While this is becoming rare (due to the lack of available monks, mostly) within Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholicism as well, it remains the ideal.

 

[babochka]

":

				Originally Posted by **Cirdan XII** 					[forums.catholic-questions.org/images/buttons_khaki/viewpost.gif](http://forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=11335595#post11335595) 				
			*One possible risk that I can see in  married priests is that this might be the beginning of there being  families and dynasties of priests. In Hinduism this has happened to some  extent with the priests setting themselves off as a caste unto  themselves which it is very difficult to get into if not by birth. If  you want priests to continue to be of the people and for the people,  they must continue to come from the people.

You are positing a non-problem. There are any number of examples in the Eastern rites of grandfather being priest, and father and son. the world does not turn upside down.

It really isn’t a non-problem, at least not historically. Under the feudal system in Eastern Europe, what he describes was exactly the way it was, at least according to my priest (who is, by the way, young, married, and with a growing family). There were priestly families, and they were in a class unto themselves - not landlords or nobility, nor serfs. Daughters of priests were expected to marry sons of priests, who in turn were expected to become priests. It resulted in an incredible amount of clericalism, the remnants of which still exist in Eastern European society today.

Of course, that is not a reason to end the long-standing tradition of married priests, any more than the failings of celibate priests should be used to end celibacy.

 

[babochka]

Married men may be feeling a calling to the priesthood, but have they talked to their wives about this? Are the wives aware of the sacrifice they would be making by having a husband who is also a priest?

Well, their wives are required to give explicit permission, in writing, prior to a husband’s ordination.

 

[babochka]

The difference is that they can actually make decisions on such matters.

If a priest was up all night with one of his own children was ill (and his wife was away from home that night) and he gets an emergency call to administer the sacrament of the sick, what does he do? Does he leave his own child and go? Or does he try to phone around for another priest (which will take time)?

Every priest is called to make decisions on such matters.

What does a priest do now? What if he is alone in the rectory, sick with nobody to care for him? He makes a choice. Either he is able to respond or he is not. If he can, he phones around for another priest or has already alerted somebody else that he is unable to handle emergencies due to his illness.

I have a relative who is a midwife. Her husband travels, so she is often home alone with the children, while her husband is out of town. She has arrangements with a friend for 24-hour on-call childcare in case she should get called away for a birth or an emergency. They make it work.

 

[babochka]

It is a shame that the other Eastern Catholics were chased off this thread because I had wanted to ask about living arrangements in the Eastern Churches. What you describe seems like a nice mix of married and celibate priests, and more of them. Thank you for posting this.

Are the priests given a rectory to live in or do they get a stipend for housing and make their own living arrangements?

-Tim-

Our parish does not have a rectory. While we should be giving our priest a housing allowance, the reality is that our tiny parish cannot afford it. Father works as a high school theology teacher in addition to running the parish, and he and his wife own a home. They pay the mortgage themselves and the parish pays some of the bills.