Posted on 08/19/2003 6:15:43 AM PDT by NYer
MILWAUKEE (AP) _ More than 160 priests in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee have signed a letter arguing that married men should be allowed to enter the priesthood.
The letter marks the first time since the mid-1970s that a group of priests has spoken out in favor of loosening the rules on celibacy, said Dean Hoge, a sociologist at Catholic University of America. ``We join our voices to those of so many others at this time, voices urging that diocesan priesthood now be open to married men as well as to celibate men,'' the letter said. The priests hope the letter will prompt a dialogue about the issue of optional celibacy because of the shortage of priests, said the Rev. Tom Suriano, pastor of St. Patrick Church in Whitewater.
Catholic priests must take a vow of celibacy and the church forbids priest to be married. The Rev. Robert Silva, president of the National Federation of Priests' Councils, said he would request that the letter be discussed by the Committee on Priestly Life and Ministry, a subcommittee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan will chair that committee, beginning in November, Silva said. Archdiocesan spokesman Jerry Topczewski said Dolan did not attempt to stop the priests from circulating the letter. Topczewski also did not expect any fallout for priests who signed the letter.
Copies of the letter were mailed to 442 retired and active diocesan priests living in the 10-county archdiocese, and 128, or 29 percent, returned signed copies, the organizers said. Another 35 religious order priests signed copies. ``Given the present context of the scandals of the last several years, many see optional celibacy as something that needs to be discussed. It opens up the pool of candidates for the priesthood,'' Silva said.
AP-ES-08-19-03 0512EDT
If Catholics got to vote on their bishops and pastors, I might agree with you.
We have already introduced too much democracy in the Church, giving parish councils too much power, having diocesan "senates."
I long for the days when "Father" could take collection money to the race track, or play the stock market with it, and have no accountability to the parishioners who donated it.
We've seen what lack of accountability has done, with bishops shuffling pederasts from parish to parish.
If anything, MORE accountablity is needed in the Church, not less, and not just oversight by the Vatican.
A lot of good THAT did the victims of predator priests.
A truly patronizing attitude. The "laity" are not confused; they see married men serving large parishes and see no reason why more married men can't serve the Church.
Celibacy has little witness value to lay people; they want good men to minister to them, married or celibate.
We've got five Anglican-dispensation priests (one of whom was in our parish), and an entire Anglican-use parish.
So folks in the Fort Worth diocese are familiar and comfortable with married priests. We also have 145 married deacons in our little diocese, many of whom have full-time, paid ministries in parishes.
Louisiana's got its share of Protestant converts; one of them is at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Parish in Lake Charles. He's a Methodist convert. He buried my mother-in-law last year.
Of course, Sink, the "Catholic" educators (in Seminaries and elsewhere) have been agitating for optional celibacy for many years. And believe it or not, many of them have LIED LIKE HELL about the "historical data" to make their case.
Just might have had an effect on the survey data...
Believe it or not, I've never publically advocated a change to the celibacy law, in RCIA, or anywhere else. Nobody cares what I think in a forum like that; they want Church teaching.
No, the people I know who favor married priests have encountered a couple of Anglican dispensation priests, who manage to minister every bit as freely as celibate priests, and who can out-preach every celibate priest I know.
Oh, and they've also encountered married deacons, who are requested by engaged couples to witness their marriages.
I must be in a unique diocese, but we've got married clerics running around all over the place, and the celibates are trying to keep up!
The reason there are too few priests is the poor catechisis of the young, starting in the early 1970s. Open a CCD book in a regular parish CCD program and what you will find, by and large is a bunch of lessons in liberation theology, a superficial teaching of the faith and very little on the comunion of the saints (in other words, nothing that connects the present generation to the generations of Catholics who proceeded him).
I wish that these priests would look at the root cause of the crisis in faith instead of wasting time on something that may have legitimate debate worthiness at some time in the future.
I am mindful of my own parish priest giving a quick mention on the priesthood a few months ago. Never mentioning to pray for vocations, never mentioning how the priest teaches Truth and is the shepherd leading his flock through that narrow gate, never mentioning the (or his) joys of the priesthood but talking strictly about how there were not enough priests and how we would have to get used to a "new" priesthood in the future - a married one.
I sat there in sad silence and wept internally for my 10 year old son and I knew why this particular priest would not be responsible for young men listening for "the call."
Bruskewitz' seminaries are full. Why?
I recently attended a Mass said by a newly ordained priest in his first parish assignment as Parochial Vicar. He is young, vibrant and orthodox. It was so refreshing to be at his Mass! My understanding is that all of the newly ordained priests from the seminary in Boston are like him.
I would like to call that parish and find out which Masses are said by this priest and attend them with my kids - this priest is the kind of priest kids should be exposed to, however, I am not comfortable doing that as, in a way, it is making the personality of the priest the focus of the Mass. You have to take the good with the bad... it leads to discernment.
My ten year old picked up and started reading the book "Joshua" last night while I was at work. My daughter has to read it for her freshman religion class. Anyhow, my son was awake when I came home and he came down to greet me and told me he didn't like the book at all. I asked him why and he said because the book mentions that all religions are good but it only says bad stuff about the Catholics. He also added that there are ministers and rabbis and priests in the book but that only the priests are mean.
Good discernment in a 10 year old!
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