Posted on 05/02/2004 5:53:26 PM PDT by Investment Biker
Marriage is not a "temptation." It is one of the seven Sacraments.
Is not having sex breaking the vow of celibacy? Does this include sex with children? I am back to wondering why pedophile priests are not "thrown out". Someone who breaks his vow to God should no longer be a priest.
Sexual activity breaks the vow of celibacy, yes.
Sexually abusive priests were not "thrown out" of the priesthood because such activity was viewed as a moral failing, and not as homosexual or pedophiliac behavior. So, the priest was advised to confess his sin, undergo some counseling, and move on to greener pastures.
Remember that Jesus said, in regards to not marrying "This is a hard teaching. Let him accept it who can accept it."
The Church has decided that only celibate males can be admitted to the priesthood. This restriction means that there will be, no matter the circumstance, a large number of homosexual men attracted to this life. There always have been homosexuals in the priesthood, most of them celibate.
And, in truth, most of the homosexuals in the priesthood today are celibate. Unfortunately, those who are not have damaged the perception of clerical life for a generation.
Are you devoted to Christ? Is your "whole life" not devoted to Christ? I would hope it is.
You're naive if you think that the lives of the vast majority of priests are devoted exclusively to the service of the Church. Just try getting a priest to call you back within 48 hours.
Ah, you've hit upon a puzzlement.
I'm afraid I can't answer you.
To be precise, however, married men can become priests, but ordained priests cannot marry. And, I think that is a good thing.
If a catholic who is already a priest marries, he can no longer serve as a priest except to hear a confession if a person is in danger of dying. I don't think they are permitted to say mass privately, although some do. I don't think any catholic who is married can be accepted in the seminary. This has been discussed at length on the internet.
A catholic can transfer to a rite that allows married priests. Ministers and priests from other churches who convert can be priests, (Anglican, etc.), but if their spouse dies, they are not allowed to remarry and continue in the priestly ministry.
My in-laws' priest was a Shakespeare aficionado. He never returned calls and put this message on his answering machine:
"To speak, or not to speak, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to leave a message after the beep, or to take arms against a sea of answering machines, and by opposing, end them. To dial, to speak, no more. Thus answering machines do make cowards of us all."
Yes. A priest can marry civilly. Now, he should not receive the Eucharist, since he's married outside the Church. But, in the cases I cited, these guys (all of whom I know and knew in the seminary) were married for ten or even twenty years. Their marriages didn't work out, for one reason or another, and they ended in divorce.
Every one of them sought permission, through the local bishop, to return to the priesthood.
Rome granted every single one of them the right to return. Three are pastors, and two are associates and will likely be pastors within a year.
I understand that most priests who marry or long to marry do the right thing and leave the priesthood, so it usually doesn't come to this, but are you saying the Church has no recourse when a priest flaunts the rules and marries anyway?
In the case of these men, the Church did nothing. Now, if any of them had sought laicization (as many priests did under Paul VI and the early JP II pontificate), they would be considered laymen. I have heard of eight or ten cases of laicized priests who divorced, or whose wives died, who have petitioned Rome for reinstitution. I have no idea how any of these turned out. However, I know of a permanent deacon in our diocese whose wife died. He was 42 and had kids at home. He wanted to remarry, so he sought laicization.
Rome told him to forget about it, and remarry if he wished.
Holy Orders (a Sacrament in the Catholic Church) makes a man a member of the clergy. Permanently.
Laicization is the formal canonical process of returning a cleric to the state of a layman (the status of every other non-cleric). Now, the priest retains Holy Orders, but he cannot exercise them, anywhere, even with the permission of a bishop. He can only exercise his power of forgiving sins and administering the Sacrament of the Sick ("Last Rites") in cases of emergency, when no priest is available.
Laicization allows a priest to marry in the Church.
If a protestant minister is married (A), he can be a priest when he converts (if accepted) (B)
If a protestant convert priest becomes a widower (A), he cannot remarry and remain in the priesthood (B).
If a catholic priest (A), transfers to another rite (if he is allowed to do so), he can marry and remain a priest (B).
If a catholic priest marries (A), he is no longer allowed to minister (B), but if he dumps his wife (C), he can return to the priesthood (D) (if they will accept him back).
If a married catholic layman wants to enter a seminary and become a priest (A), he will be refused admission (B) unless he divorces his wife and is granted and annulment (C).
That's enough. Now he is still a priest forever, but may not be allowed to function as a priest.
Yup. Punitive, no doubt. Some parishes are more welcoming though, but I don't know if they are allowed to use their talents as you described.
And woe to the woman who steals a collar away from the priesthood by marrying him. She is tarred and feathered, figuratively speaking. He isn't treated quite so badly because boys will be boys.
Depends on the pastor. We have an ex-priest in our parish, and he's a major player on the RCIA team.
And woe to the woman who steals a collar away from the priesthood by marrying him. She is tarred and feathered, figuratively speaking. He isn't treated quite so badly because boys will be boys.
Well, that may be the case in some places. The ex-priest in our parish is accepted just like anyone else, and his wife is not viewed as a Jezabel; on the contrary, she's a Eucharistic Minister and helps him in the RCIA.
Good.
He ought to be allowed to celebrate Mass, to help out our harried clerical staff.
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