Posted on 01/27/2013 12:31:22 PM PST by marshmallow
John Cornelius, who is married, will be ordained this weekend -- and sex-free life begins
John Cornelius will be ordained a Roman Catholic priest this weekend — and with the blessing of his wife they're giving up their sex life. Cornelius, a father of three, will become the first married Roman Catholic priest in New York — and Sharyl, his wife of 33-years, has agreed to the whole celibacy thing.
“We have decided to do that voluntarily,” Cornelius told WGRZ-TV. “I have always had friends that are Roman Catholic priests and I appreciate what they've given up to serve God and the priesthood.”
Cornelius, 64, is a former Episcopalian priest who converted three years ago to Catholicism. He said his old church had gotten too liberal for him.
Two Catholic takes on the story:
Buffalo’s married priest says he will stop having sex (The Deacon's Bench)
Dcn. John Cornelius and his wife Sheryl are doing a praiseworthy thing (In the Light of the Law)
Oh come on, what’s he giving up... Everybody knows that the sex stops when you get married.
Oh come on, what’s he giving up... Everybody knows that the sex stops when you get married.
Oh come on, what’s he giving up... Everybody knows that the sex stops when you get married.
I’ve heard of a few convert Catholic priests who can have relations with their wives until she dies, but then can’t remarry. Does anyone know if Cornelius is taking a vow or a promise or is this something he can voluntarily go back on with no sin involved?
“Buffalo’s married priest says he will stop having sex”
So many punchlines here.
Somehow, I have a feeling that Fr. Cornelius will have very few penitents going to confession with him.
Not having sex in a marriage is unBiblical, except by agreement, for a short time, for prayer.
Could he not have been ordained as a priest in one of the Eastern Catholic Churches, and if so, would continence still have been expected? I know outside of the US it is not, but I think there are special circumstances for Eastern Catholic priests in the United States.
Indeed.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%207:1-11&version=KNOX
However, I do respect those who live chaste lives in our sex-obsessed society. I wonder if married Anglican and other Protestant priests who become Roman Catholic have to follow the celibacy rule as well?
Married Catholic clergy do not take a vow or make a promise to be continent. We make a promise of conditional celibacy in that if our wives pre-decease us then we must remain celibate and cannot remarry.
If Deacon Cornelius is making a promise to be continent after ordination, then that is entirely of his own initiative - and all the more praiseworthy because of it. He would have to have his wife’s agreement in this, of course.
If they subsequently decided that they could not live continently, he would not be breaking any of the Church’s laws, therefore, it would be no more sinful than breaking any other promise. However, the prospect of breaking a promise we make to God should make any of us pause before making such promises without due care and consideration.
Why not? My confessor is a married priest and he always has long lines of people waiting at his Confessional. The rules about the Seal of Confession will apply just as much to him as to any other priest.
For his sake, I just hope that his Confessional is quite roomy! ;)
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**Cornelius, 64, is a former Episcopalian priest who converted three years ago to Catholicism.**
We also have a convert to the Catholic faith from the Episcopal Church. His wife and his grown children were present at his ordination — which I attended.
People just need to accept the fact that the Catholic Church is different!
God bless him and his family.
Many Saints in heaven agreed to live mutually celibate and respectful lives with their spouses. I know of one whose body is incorrupt.
Why do you throw stones?
Study: Homosexuality, celibacy didn't cause abuse (Catholic Church)
Celibacy is Cry to The Secularized World that God is Present, States Cardinal
Cardinal Kasper: I Was Never Against Priestly Celibacy [Catholic Caucus]
Cardinal Lehman Attacks Cardinal Brandmüller's Letter in Defense of Celibacy
Cardinal Piacenza's Address to Priestly Celibacy Congress
As a Young Priest Benedict XVI ‘Called For The Church to Investigate Priestly Celibacy’
A Catholic Bishop Looks Back Gratefully on 87 Years of Celibacy
Pope's Q-and-A at End of Priestly Year (Pt 3) "Celibacy...Is a Great Sign of Faith" Catholic Caucus]
Pope rethinks, clarifies and reinforces celibacy, asserts Vatican analyst
The Pope "Rethinks" Clerical Celibacy. In Order to Reinforce It
Priestly Meeting Shows "Beauty" of Celibacy
Celibacy is Nonsense...
Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven. The Argument over Celibacy
Does Celibacy Contribute to Clerical Sex Abuse?
A “Celibacy Problem”? Catholic-Bashing, NAMBLA and the Dalai Lama
Vatican: DON'T blame it on celibacy
Is Priestly Celibacy Psychologically Dangerous? (Catholic Caucus)
No Greater Love: Speakers Say Celibacy Mirrors Jesus' Love For All
5 Arguments for Priestly Celibacy
5 Arguments Against Priestly Celibacy and How to Refute Them
The Charism of Celibacy and Concupiscence
Radio Replies First Volume - Celibacy
Provision for Anglicans published, celibacy question answered
Vatican Holds Line on Celibacy for Anglican Rebels [Apostolic Constitution published today]
Celibacy and the Priesthood
Cardinal Levada: no “celibacy issue” in reception of Anglicans into Catholic Church
Celibacy Issue Holds Up Apostolic Constitution
The Jewel of Celibacy
TENDENCY FOR PRIESTS IS TOWARD CELIBACY, SAYS EGYPTIAN BISHOP
Bad Examples Do Not Invalidate The Value of Priestly Celibacy, Says Bishop
Married [converts] priests inspire flock Why Can't (Roman) Catholic Priests Get Married?
Priestly Celibacy: Yes, it is Apostolic [Ecumenical]
Roman Catholic Priests the Case For:
Married man considers turn as Catholic priest
Angelo Roncalli (Pope John XXIII) and Priestly Celibacy
Ukrainian cardinal says married men not answer to vocations crisis
The Nature of Priestly Ordination: Theological Background and Some Present Concerns
Married man considers turn as Catholic priest
Why Celibacy? [Catholic Caucus]
Messori: Married priests no remedy for “vocations crisis”
Married Priests Back Celibacy (Part 1 of 2)
Should Catholic priests have the right to marry?
On Priests, Marriage and the Sacraments
Vatican Said (Again!) Not Revising Celibacy Rule
Pope, Curia Aides Reaffirm Value of Priestly Celibacy (detailed Vatican response)
Vatican Reaffirms Celibacy for Priests
The Gift: A Married Priest Looks at Celiba[cy]
Jesuit defends priestly celibacy (a lengthy but worthy read)
Ex-Lutheran bishop found Catholic rock: Joseph Jacobson to be ordained Catholic priest by Christmas
New, stricter Priestly Formation Program issued for U.S. Catholic seminaries
Long Journey to Rome (Former Southern Baptist Pastor Now a Traveling Crusader for Catholic Church)
That sneaky desperate Catholic Church is at it again
Following the Signs (to a priestly vocation)
Another One Takes the Plunge [swims the Tiber]
Getting It Right:The Foundation of Friendship (What can a celibate priest really teach us about love
Married, ex-Episcopalian ordained a Catholic priest in California
The biblical foundation of priestly celibacy
Why Not Married Priests? The Case for Clerical Celibacy
(Catholic) Church makes a clear distinction between chastity and celibacy, says Priest
5 Arguments Against Priestly Celibacy and How to Refute Them
Married Priests Aren’t the Answer (a seminarian states his view)
Synod Affirms Priestly Celibacy
Vatican synod rules out married priests (for Latin Church)
Priest shortage stems from crisis of faith, ignorance of the infinite, not celibacy, say Bishops [at Synod]
Cardinal Pell: Ending Celibacy Rule Would Be a Blunder
Patriarch of Venice deemphasizes ordination of married men to the priesthood
Ordination of married men is raised at Vatican synod
Defending Chastity in the Priesthood
ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF SCRANTON TO RECEIVE FIRST ECUSA PRIEST
The Catholic Church - East-West Difference Over Priestly Celibacy
Spain (R) Catholic Church ordains first married priest
Spain gets first married priest
From Anglican to married Catholic priest
Vatican Prepares Draft Directives Against Admitting Gays as Priests
More (Priestly) Celibacy, Not Less
An Unneeded Headache (Vatican document on [NOT] admitting homosexual to the priesthood)
Fathers, Husbands and Rebels: Married Priests
Cardinal says Priests will marry
Yes, Gay Men Should Be Ordained
A small, sturdy band of 'John Paul priests'(JPII legacy of conservative priests)
40% of Scots priests want end to celibacy
Is it time to ordain married men to the Catholic priesthood?
Saying Yes to God: a Look into Vocations
New Vatican Document to Eliminate 1961 Papal Ban on Ordaining Homosexuals
Saying Yes to God: a Look into Vocations
Married Priests? The English Experience
Alternative Priests´ Council Hits Back on Mandatory Celibacy
Catholic priests urge Church to reconsider celibacy rules
Catholic priests demand the right to marry
New Vatican Document on Homosexuality and the Priesthood Coming Before Fall 2005
Why A Married Priesthood Won't Remedy the Priest Shortage
5 Arguments Against (Catholic) Priestly Celibacy and How to Refute Them
Fr. Shannon Collins Discusses Celibacy
For Priests, Celibacy Is Not the Problem
John Paul II Hails "Inestimable Value" of Priestly Celibacy
The (Catholic) Church Has Always Prospered When Celibacy Is Honored
Call To Action: Dump Celibacy
Celibacy Defended by EWTN's Fr. Levis
Celibacy Will Save the Priesthood
Celibacy is gift cherished by church
Archbishop Dolan:"We Need to Be Renewing Our Pledge to Celibacy, Not Questioning It"
The gift of Priestly celibacy as a sign of the charity of Christ, by Mother Teresa of Calcutta
A response to Fr. Joseph Wilson's defense of mandatory celibacy
Bishop Attacks Move to End Celibacy
Vatican Says Celibacy Rule Nonnegotiable
God’s call to celibacy for the sake of His Kingdom - by Card. George
Tracing the Glorious Origins of Celibacy
Celibacy
Priestly Celibacy Reflects Who - and Whose - We Are[Father George W.Rutler]
How to Refute Arguments Against Priestly Celibacy
Priestly Celibacy And Its Roots In Christ
The celibate superhero
Don't end celibacy for priests
Giving Thanks for the Good Shepherds ( A Defense of Priestly Celibacy)
Pope: Priests Must Stay Celibate
Celibacy s history of power and money
Celibacy of the priesthood is a church strength, not a liability
Catholic Scandals: A Crisis for Celibacy?
Has the Time Come to Consider Making Celibacy Truly Optional In the Western Church?
Most people who live chaste lives live them because they do not have a great desire to have sex with others in the first place. Many are not priests either, it’s just the kind of person they are. And there are several main reasons for it.
This is why we see the problems of forcing people with a normal libido into an unnatural permanent state of celibacy, and they look for an outlet of that desire and energy they have to suppress.
There is no biblical reason for leaders in the Christian church to not be married. Paul says he wishes more could be, but that is not a command you must be. The only place where this is required to be a leader is the Roman Catholic denomination. And they haven’t done themselves any favors by reducing excellent candidates out of potential great ministerial positions because they are honest that they can’t be celibate. So you get the pedophiles, the rapists, and the gays, or any hodgepodge of the above, in positions of authority over others, attempting to lecture them about morals while they and their archbishops do everything they can to cloak their own sins from the congregations.
And yes you can find married pastors and such that are into perversion, it’s not exclusive to the Roman church and we’ve never said that only they have the problem. But what you can’t find are churches who once discovered, won’t get rid of them, won’t shuffle them off to another unsuspecting church in their area. They get fired, they get prosecuted. The congregations get rid of them, they have the power to do so. Not so in the Roman Catholic churches. The Roman church because of its structure has systemically hid this from people, denied it was occurring, settled agreements only under vows of silence that those affected couldn’t mention it to anyone, moved people around they knew had problems and did not warn the parishes these problem priests were coming to. It’s the coverup and denial there even were problems being covered up.
We expect this kind of behavior from secular society, from worldly people, the unsaved, those still under control of the ruler of this world. What we don’t expect is this behavior from people in the church. Running the church. In positions of authority over others. That’s what makes it worse. At the same time condemning others for their little failings. That’s the problem.
Oh I’m a strong Protestant who believes the sexual requirement for all Christians(clergy and laity alike) is either keep it in marriage(as Jesus defined it in Matthew 19:4-6, not as our perverted, sinful society is redefining it) or chastity, no exceptions. In analyzing how Rome keeps married men out of the priesthood I find it an interesting contrast to what I find in the Evangelical Protestant world I inhabit. If a young man wants to be a minister here, he better make sure he’s either got a wife or is about to get one. Otherwise, most Bible believing churches wouldn’t even consider hiring him.
of course how much he is giving up is a function of what his wife looks like.
Might be real easy.
I cannot imagine letting people know about this very private decision.
You mean just because
• God/Christ describes marriage as "cleaving" and becoming one flesh, (Gn. 2:24; Mt. 19:4,5)
• and there is no example of celibate marriage anywhere in Scripture btwn two adults able to procreate,
• and celibacy for such is only advocated in the context of being single, (Mt. 19:10-12; 1Cor. 7:8)
• and Paul restricts abstinence to only a period of fasting, and then to come together again,
• and teaches that celibacy is a gift, (1Cor. 7:1,7)
• and in no way evidences that all clergy are presumed to have it,
• but instead lists marriage and raising children as normal credentials for ministry "(For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?" - 1 Timothy 3:5)
then you think mandating celibacy for priests (not to mention that is never what pastors are distinctively titled by the Holy Ghost) is uinBiblical?
But when did Scripture become the supreme authority for Rome,
or when was Scriptural warrant necessary for doctrine (or even reasons behind infallible decrees held as necessarily infallible)
or when did anything Scripture say have authority unless Rome interpreted thusly?
Yet as some attempt must be made (in condescension to pesky Protestants) by RCAs to provide some sort of Scriptural warrant for traditions of men, you have forgotten that they are endowed with a amazing gift of extrapolating what is needed to provide some Scriptural warrant (like 1 Cor. 3 as teaching purgatory )
Thus, out of, "this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none," (1 Corinthians 7:29) is extrapolated support for lifelong celibacy; which, to be consistent, means that Christians can no longer show weeping, or rejoicing, or use things they possess, (1Cor. 7:30), rather than just living in consecration and holiness as the Lord enjoined, (Lk. 21:34) not preoccupied with cares of this life, and in which fasting and sexual relations can both be enjoined to, and marriage bed be declared undefiled. (Heb. 13:4)
And it is a standard and safe rule in exegesis to interpret the unclear texts in the light of the clear.
However, as other sola ecclesia groups go to extremes, with the LDS exalting sex above which is written, Catholics have gone to the other extreme, and in so doing exampled more exegetical errors, even holding that all marital relations are unclean, as they could not be effected without the ardour of lust, this being carnal concupiscence, though it is “no longer accounted sin in the regenerate."
Jerome (engaging in a false dilemma) reasoned that since 1Cor. 7:1 says "it is good not to touch a woman, [then] it is bad to touch one: for there is no opposite to goodness but badness." And that since men must always pray, ministers could not be married, and invoked Genesis 7 as proving that "two is not a good number because it destroys unity, and prefigures the marriage compact." (More: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2966953/posts?page=311#311)
All this is not meant to demean celibacy in consecration toward God, nor must this particular priest be celibate (Rome makes allowances for those who enter the priest hood married), but refutes the idea that it should be presumed that those called to ministry normally have the gift of celibacy. That is simply presumptuous and asking for trouble.
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