Posted on 03/10/2017 12:02:29 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Pope Francis has said he is open to married men becoming priests to combat the Roman Catholic Church's shortage of clergy.
In an interview with German newspaper Die Zeit, Pope Francis said the lack of Catholic priests was an "enormous problem" for the Church, and indicated he would be open to a change in the rules governing eligibility for the priesthood.
"We need to consider if 'viri probati' could be a possibility," he said. "If so, we would need to determine what duties they could undertake, for example, in remote communities."
Viri probati is the Latin term for "tested men" or married men of outstanding faith and virtue....
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
In some cases married men can already become Catholic priests, i.e. if they were married Anglican clergy that are becoming Catholic. Probably Orthodox, as well.
This has been the issue destroying the priesthood of the RCC for as long as its been mandated. Nowhere is there a command to be celibate in order to be a church leader. It is an RCC imposed requirement with zero backing of scripture.
Pauls discussion of it refers to his saying if you can avoid sexual lusts good for you and you should do so, it will be better for you, but if you cant its better to be married and have a god-blessed outlet for it. Not in the context of leaders of the church must be celibate or else they cant be leaders or priests or whatever.
Usher in the long anticipated schism...
This Pope just won’t stop until half the Catholic Church mimics the Episcopal Church.
Um, since non-Catholic married men can pledge to Catholiciism and be ordained as Priests in that religion, why would married catholic men be heretofore denied such a change?
I don’t see why not.
They got a whole corps of nuns sitting around drawing a check.
Easy fix with only in-house hiring.
That’s what Martin Luther and John McLaughlin did.
If there’s such a shortage of priests, then why not ordain women as well?
I’m not Catholic. At all. Can I be a priest too?
I’ve always thought that the requirement that priest be unmarried is a financial decision, lest the Church have to support whole families. But I really dislike this crazy ass “Pope”.
Post of the day!
Post of the day contender!
I think you are right as far as what Scripture says, in particular St. Paul.
But in my years of seeing different Christian religions such as Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, it seems to me that having a wife and children is often a distraction that keeps the clergy from doing work in their chosen field.
Anyone who has a family knows how difficult it can be to perform at the job, especially when those inevitable challenging times arise with the nuclear AND extended family. Let’s not forget the in-laws!
My point is while there is no obvious ‘command’ to the contrary, the Church is better served with an unmarried Priest - as long as the Priest can handle the ‘biological tension’ (if you get my meaning).
Baloney. In fact, traditional Catholic orders like the Society of St. Pius X and the Fraternity of St. Peter can't even accommodate all of the vocations they have for the priesthood. The SSPX is building a massive new seminary in Virginia as we speak ... even as regular parishes are withering away.
A return to Catholic tradition will do far more to correct the problem of vocations to the priesthood than any of the zany ideas we've seen over the years.
P.S. -- I've seen reports suggesting that priestly celibacy was a major reason why the Catholic Church survived (and even thrived) behind the Iron Curtain when every other Christian denomination basically became arms of totalitarian governments. It's much easier for an authoritarian government to force a priest or bishop to capitulate when he has a wife and family to worry about.
Never heard of that before - thanks for bringing it up. eyes roll>
Should have been done 40 years ago when they discovered they had a pedophile problem.
Scripture does say if youmare going to be a leader and have a family, you are to keep your family in control, and if you cannot do that you cant be a leader of the church. So that would address your concerns about family distraction taking away from ministerial duties. They need to either get it in order or be removed.
And I think if you read CHURCH OF SPIES you’ll also see why single priest are less vulnerable to some of the types of blackmails used against single priests.
They’re kidding, right?
This pope is open to marxist muslim pedophiles becoming bishops.
Why would marriage be a hindrance to anything in his eyes? Unless it’s just too normal for him. Maybe better if the applicant has multiple wives, then this pope would like it better.
It’s all about “diversity” with this anti-christ.
Better married than gay.
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