MY HUSBAND, THE PRIEST

Commonweal | 1/17/2003 | Amy Welborn

[american colleen]

A guy who commits to celibacy at 25 is like a guy who marries at 18: he has a 50/50 chance of staying in his vowed state.

Sinkspur, have you faith in the supernatural? Is there no room for God's grace and charism here or is it all up to us?

[sinkspur]

Sinkspur, have you faith in the supernatural? Is there no room for God's grace and charism here or is it all up to us?

I do, but reality is reality.

[american colleen]

IN the good old days, breaking a vow was considered wrong.

That must have been back in the days of a very low divorce rate ;-) - before the "I gotta be me" and living like our life here on earth is what we were made for and a bit of suffering was expected and tolerated and often embraced for the greater good. Not that those days were perfect! However, society - "the greater good" was better served when we lived the traditional Christian life.

[american colleen]

And there is no room in reality for the grace of God?

[sinkspur]

And there is no room in reality for the grace of God?

There is.

[NeoCaveman]

Even if you move, remember that canon law prohibits some professions (and all roles during Mass—like lector) to you, although bishops vary in their attention to that rule, so if you want—or have—to work in the church, you have to look hard for a bishop who will look at those rules for what they are. Which is nonsense.

The disobedience is breath-taking. Or maybe its just the pride that is breath-taking.

[sinkspur]

The disobedience is breath-taking. Or maybe its just the pride that is breath-taking.

What sense does it make to forbid an ex-priest from lectoring at Mass? Or teaching in an RCIA program?

Only an anal-retentive would uphold this "law."

[Flying Circus]

The sins of those who remain in the priesthood are a separate issue and not relevant to this discussion.

Your cynicism about those who join the priesthood at a young age has the ring of someone who has lost faith in the grace of God to help them carry through in their vocation.

You have no place questioning me or anyone else about our sacrifices for our faith and our church.

Finally, for a long time I have deliberately refrained from ever directing any comments towards you. I find both what you have to say and the manner in which you say it distasteful. Please never direct any of your comments towards me again.

[NeoCaveman]

Again I quote
you have to look hard for a bishop who will look at those rules for what they are. Which is nonsense.

Such contempt for rules of the Majesterium, its so very Protestant.

[Loyalist]

The laity are way ahead of the hierarchy on their acceptance of married priests.

The laity are "way ahead" of the hierarchy on all manner of moral and theological matters. So are the all the bien pensants in the press and academe.

When will those benighted bishops and curial bureaucrats catch up to the all-knowing, all-enlightened laity?

[sinkspur]

You have no place questioning me or anyone else about our sacrifices for our faith and our church.

When you question someone else's commitment, your own commitment is also deserving of scrutiny.

If you post here, you are fair game to be posted to. If you choose not to respond, that is your business.

[Loyalist]

What sense does it make to forbid an ex-priest from lectoring at Mass? Or teaching in an RCIA program?

Severe consequences help underscore the solemn nature of the sacred vows of the priesthood and the responsibility to uphold him, even against the priest's own self-interested desires.

Letting a priest who has openly and unrepentantly resiled from his vows perform any sort of liturgical or teaching office would be a statement that the Church regards those vows as meaningless.

Once priests get the idea that their vows can be broken without real penalty, those who are tempted to break them will have little reason to resist the Devil's temptation.

[sinkspur]

Letting a priest who has openly and unrepentantly resiled from his vows perform any sort of liturgical or teaching office would be a statement that the Church regards those vows as meaningless.

This priest has been laicized. What is unrepentant about asking for, and receiving, laicization?

A laicized priest should have the same opportunities as any other laymen has.

In reality, I know of only one bishop who refuses to allow ex-priests to do anything in the Church.

Severe consequences help underscore the solemn nature of the sacred vows of the priesthood and the responsibility to uphold him, even against the priest's own self-interested desires.

You act as if priests who leave the priesthood just waltz out willy-nilly.

You really have no idea how these guys agonize over this. Many of them had no business being ordained in the first place, having entered minor seminaries, and pursuing ordination to please a demanding mother (it happens, more often than you know).

You speak rather harshly about something which, with all due respect, you know very little.

[saradippity]

When we first met on these threads,you stated very positively that your bishop would not permit ex-priests to lector or teach or be deacons because it was against canonical law.You even stated that you were not able to because you had been in a deacon position prior to your last minute non ordination.And I was very surprised to later find you were a deacon.

The reason i remember your statement was that I thought that it was not a particularly good use of ex-priests (banning them from teaching).I even thought it would be a good teaching moment for these priests to say that while they just were unable to live up to their vows,they did love the Church and the Truth and the Church teaching and since they knew it and loved it they were volunteering to teach this class.I even suggested that you start a petition or movement to see it they could be utilized. Now you say your disobedient bishop flaunts the canonical law and does use them. I used to think Black Elk was a little hard on him but apparently he knew more than I did.

Your diocese appears to be very,very confused.

[sinkspur]

When we first met on these threads,you stated very positively that your bishop would not permit ex-priests to lector or teach or be deacons because it was against canonical law.

You have me confused with someone else.

My bishop has never forbidden any ex-priest from exercising any ministry that laymen can exercise.

The bishop of Dallas has restrained ex-priests, but not the bishop of Ft. Worth.

[saradippity]

Poor,little,compassionate,conservative,divorced,Catholic Amy,seething and raging because she and her husband can't have it the way they want it.

"I Did It My Way",was a song,sung by Frank Sinatra,it seems too many people took it to heart.

[Thorondir]

You have to remember that some people are where they are only to destroy the place where they stand. They will not seek their own kind, when what they want is to destroy YOUR kind.

[dsc]

"When will those benighted bishops and curial bureaucrats catch up to the all-knowing, all-enlightened laity?"

They must not be watching enough cable TV.

[BlackElk]

This is noteworthy. Even Bishop Grahmann of Dallas can be Catholic once in a while. It does make sense to suppress the malcontents. If Fr. Rudy Koss had been denied ordination, the Dallas diocese would be better off financially and spiritually today. Of course, Bishop Grahmann did not put Koss in charge of Boy Scouts before his defrocking and imprisonment or there would not have been enough money in the world to pay the judgments.

If I am not mistaken, Amy Welborn writes not only for Commonweal but also for actually Catholic publications like New Oxford Review. Anyone who knows her should dissuade her from involvement witn Commonweal.

[Diva]

A guy who commits to celibacy at 25 is like a guy who marries at 18: he has a 50/50 chance of staying in his vowed state.

Do you have some statistics for this claim?