[sinkspur]

Fr Richard John Neuhaus, a noted conservative Roman Catholic priest, was accepted into the priesthood after having a distinguished career in the Lutheran Church, and yes he has been married for many years.

Neuhaus has never been married. I suspect that's the ONLY reason he was accepted into the priesthood, as he was a Lutheran.

[BlackElk]

I don't know whether Fr. Neuhaus has ever married but I know that there is a Fr. Lockwood in the St. Louis Archdiocese who is a married father of many children who was a Missouri Synod Lutheran pastor and was accepted into the Roman Catholic Church and ordained a priest. He is not alone.

Another consideration favoring the admission to the priesthood of those non-Catholic clergy who are married upon conversion to Catholicism is that it would be quite unjust to the clergyman's wife to suggest that divorce should be his path to the Catholic priesthood but not at all unjust to require him not to remarry if she should die (which also is a requirement of the permanent diaconate, is it not?). I suspect that the RCC would similarly admit Orthodox married clergy. Perhaps, the provision should extend to those of other Christian religions. Marcus Grodi, Gerry Matatics (at least years ago when my wife and I were acquainted with him), and some of the other converts from Presbyterianism would probably make first class priests. Obviously we are not going to admit women clergy from any of those Churches, as Pope John Paul II has definitively ruled.

The world ought conform to us and not vice versa.