[RightDemocrat]

What is interesting is that the Catholic Church does have some married priests as the Vatican has already allowed Anglican clergy with a wife and family to join the priesthood. As a outside observer, it doesn't make much sense that a married Episcopal priest can become a Catholic priest while a Irish Catholic family man is not eligible to do so. I think all Christian denominations are right and wrong about some things, but the problems in the Catholic and Episcopal churches are giving Christianity a negative image worldwide. Let's hope for the sake of the entire Christian Church that Pope Benedict will be led to change the policy.

[bornacatholic]

As a outside observer, it doesn't make much sense that a married Episcopal priest can become a Catholic priest while a Irish Catholic family man is not eligible to do so.

*How much time have you spent reading the Church's reaons for doing what she does?

Brother,it is within the realm of posibility the Catholic Chuch has many reasons you are totally unaware of which then places into proper context the "doesn't make musch sense" remark.

[43north]

Someone correct me if I am wrong but as I recall from history priests were allowed to marry until about the 6th century. The practice was outlawed because of many scandals involving marrying for the sake of obtaining the rights to property or some such thing as were the customs of the time. Certainly this is not a relevant reason today.

Personally, I think it would be a healthy thing to have married priests. Let the flames begin.

[IIntense]

If you are referring to the Catholic Church removing the ban on married priests, for example, they may have to rethink the laws for required confessions of sins...Reconciliation.

[Conservative til I die]

What is interesting is that the Catholic Church does have some married priests as the Vatican has already allowed Anglican clergy with a wife and family to join the priesthood. As a outside observer, it doesn't make much sense that a married Episcopal priest can become a Catholic priest while a Irish Catholic family man is not eligible to do so.

It's a matter of Tradition. The Church (really a collection of Churches in communion with the Pope) respects the various Traditions of its memeber Churches. There is no law that says the Western Rite must have celibate priests. It's a Tradition with over a thousand years of precedence. In the Eastern Rites, the Tradition has always been married priests, hence we respect that Tradition because it works for them. The reason the Church allows exemption for the rare Anglican or Lutheran that converts is because for them, they come from a different tradition.

[A.A. Cunningham]

What is interesting is that the Catholic Church does have some married priests as the Vatican has already allowed Anglican clergy with a wife and family to join the priesthood.

Pope John Paul II granted a very limited number of dispensations to the discipline of celibacy in his Pastoral Provision allowing the ordination of some, mostly Anglican, Protestant minister converts who came to the realization that the Catholic Church was the one true Church. Ordination is not automatic, the process is a lenghty one, and prior to ordination said converts must agree that should their spouse precede them in death that they will then adopt the discipline of celibacy for the remainder of their life.

The Catholic Church is composed of 22 Churches sui juris in six distinct Rites. The five Eastern Rites will indeed ordain married men but will not allow a priest once he's ordained to marry. Bishops are selected exclusively from amongst celibates.