Posted on 01/26/2005 8:45:26 AM PST by tvn
TONY EASTLEY: With their numbers in radical decline, Australia's Catholic Priests are urging the Vatican to overturn its ban on married clergy. The National Council of Priests has written to Rome urging it to re-consider the rules on celibacy. There's concern that sex and marriage have become an obstacle to recruitment.
Priests argue that their dwindling ranks could be boosted if they were allowed to marry and have families. Presently, only Priests who convert to Catholicism from other churches are allowed to be married.
The parish priest of Melbourne St Simon's Church, Father Martin Dixon, sits on the executive committee of the National Council of Priests.
AM's Nick Grimm spoke to Father Dixon.
MARTIN DIXON: Well, I think the issue of married Priests can be an issue that should be looked at and can be looked at. Marriage is not a bar to Priesthood, there are a large number of married men who are Priests in Australia already.
Melbourne has two of them here already, so it is happening, and I suppose we're saying, why just restrict it to particularly men who are Anglican Priests who have now become Catholics? It should be open to all men.
NICK GRIMM: The vow of celibacy has long been one of the defining features of the Catholic Priesthood though, hasn't it?
MARTIN DIXON: It has been, but it hasn't been for the whole history of the church. Half the history of the church has been married clergy, and the clergy in the beginning were married. Peter had his wife – the first Apostle. So, it's never been a restrictor for a long time within the church.
NICK GRIMM: So you would argue that this is a tradition which shouldn't be considered a sacred tradition?
MARTIN DIXON: No, I think it's one of the traditions we have to look at in the light of the present situation of the world we live in. It's not an unchangeable thing. The practice has been shown now that we can ordain married men. It therefore is not unchangeable.
NICK GRIMM: It is argued at times, isn't it, that there's a view that Priests can't really minister effectively if they live a life which is still quite remote from the everyday experience of many people?
MARTIN DIXON: If you live in the Parish and you're working among the people, you're not remote. You know the feelings, you know the pains, and you know the joys of it. You don't have to be married to know what it's like.
TONY EASTLEY: The parish priest of Melbourne St Simon's Church, Father Martin Dixon, speaking with AM's Nick Grimm.
C'mere.
BTTT
The Apostle Peter was not married...
...wait a minute.
They should be allowed to marry. It will never happen though.
We also had some priests in the ol' rectory that were celibate when it came to women but not with each other. Some referred to them as being "celibutt in the rectumry".
Personally? I think they should be allowed to be married. It would bring females into the picture to keep and eye on things and also make it easier to tell which priests were, let's say, out of the norm.
Rome,
And while you're at it, let's revisit the whole monogamy thing...and maybe meat on Fridays...and...
Love, the "dwindling ranks"
may I ask how you knew that all these priests were not celibate?
were you in the room?
Look, just because is guy is married doesn't mean that he will be able to do a better job counseling a wife and husband having difficulty in their marriage.
But the ability for Catholic priests to marry couldn't hurt recruitment in America. My God, I think they are something like 29-thousand parish priests in all of the US, and only 300 or 400 of them are UNDER the age of 30.
Some day, I am certain, Catholic priests will be allowed to marry. But not soon.
...first "hand" experience?
As a catholic I don't have a problem with allowing priest to marry. I hung around a guy in hs who really wanted(and still does want to become a priest) However he met a girl in hs and they have been married for 24 years now. He said he would quit his job tomorrow to become a priest if allowed.
"Catholic Priest Caught in Adultery Scandal"
"Father Is An Dead-Beat Dad"
"Ex-wife Wants Half of Diocese"
"Padre Pounds Pretty Little Princess"
...
You get the idea: they'll be looking for that first extra-marital affair, divorce, spousal abuse, etc. to give new fresh black eyes to the Catholic Church.
TS
This has nothing to do with recruitment and nothing to do with "understanding married couples" in your parish...
Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body demonstrates that it is possible for a celibate man to understand human sexuality more than married people themselves as all truths of the human condition are based upon objective Truths, not subjective experience.
*shudder*
Ya. They should just stick to molesting little boys and covering it up at all levels.
It wasn't ALL the medias fault for the church's black eye. They didn't make it up. The "scandal" was there without the media's help, they just exposed it (not saying they didn't enjoy it). Maybe allowing marriage would eliminate some of that. Let's not be like the Demonrats and blame our problems on everyone else.
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