Father Josh: A married Catholic priest in a celibate world

From Dallas-

The priest wakes up at 4 a.m. on the days he celebrates the early Mass, sipping coffee and enjoying the quiet while his young children sleep in rooms awash in stuffed animals and Sesame Street dolls and pictures of saints. Then he kisses his wife goodbye and drives through the empty suburban streets of north Dallas to the church he oversees.

In a Catholic world where debates over clerical celibacy have flared from Brazil to the Vatican, Joshua Whitfield is that rarest of things: A married Catholic priest.

The Roman Catholic church has demanded celibacy of its priests since the Middle Ages, calling it a “spiritual gift” that enables men to devote themselves fully to the church. But as a shortage of priests becomes a crisis in parts of the world, liberal wings in the church have been arguing that it’s time to reassess that stance. On Wednesday, Pope Francis sidestepped the latest debate on celibacy, releasing an eagerly awaited document that avoided any mention of recommendations by Latin American bishops to consider ordaining married men in the Amazon, where believers can go months without seeing a priest.

Even the most liberal of popes have refused to change the tradition.

It is “the mark of a heroic soul and the imperative call to unique and total love for Christ and His Church,” Pope Paul VI wrote in 1967.

More here-

https://www.examiner.org/father-josh-a-married-catholic-priest-in-a-celibate-world/

Why Pope Francis may open the door to married priests

From The Economist-

NOT FOR the first time, Pope Francis—or, to be more precise, his aides in the Vatican—have raised eyebrows. On June 17th, in a document that sets the agenda for a meeting in October to discuss the problems of the Amazon basin, they declared that the Catholic church should consider ordaining married men. The problems of Amazon communities range from the destruction of the natural environment to the persecution of its indigenous peoples. For the Catholic church, however, there is another pressing issue—it does not have anywhere near enough priests to minister to the existing Catholic population, let alone proselytise or fend off a growing challenge from Evangelical Christianity. Some Catholic figures talk of confronting a “Eucharist famine”.

The document asks the bishops who will attend the gathering, or synod, to discuss making priests of “elders, preferably indigenous, respected and accepted by their community, even if they have a constituted and stable family”. It also moots the idea of women taking part in what it calls “official ministry,” but quite what that could mean is unclear. The bishops would not be able to authorise the change, but they could recommend it to Francis who does have the power to enact it.

More here-

https://www.economist.com/erasmus/2019/06/18/why-pope-francis-may-open-the-door-to-married-priests 

and here-

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/vatican-may-allow-some-married-men-to-become-priests-1.3929497

Celibacy isn’t the cause of the church sex-abuse crisis; the priesthood is

From The Boston Globe-

Year after year, we seem to reach new depths of priestly depravity in the Catholic church’s “ministry” to children in its charge. After 16 years of bad news on that front, a Pennsylvania grand jury reported last August that more than 1,000 children had been molested by more than 300 priests in that state. 

And now the attorney general of Illinois, Lisa Madigan, has revealed that 500 cases of alleged molestation were kept hidden by Catholic authorities. They were rejected as unproven by their own investigation. But Madigan says these were not real investigations at all, since the clerical bodies involved “will not resolve the clergy sexual abuse crisis on their own.” Civil authorities are needed where spiritual guidance has been nothing but misguidance.

The first instinct of bishops in these scandals was to “lawyer up,” and the first instruction of lawyers was not to show compassion or admit to any accusation. Large amounts of money are at stake here — millions already paid in settlements, with more millions to come. Madigan rightly says: “The priority has always been in protecting priests and protecting church assets.” I have a priest friend who went to console a family he knew when their child reported an abuse, but he was told by his religious superiors to cut it out. He was just lending credibility to the accuser. 

More here-

https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2019/01/03/celibacy-isn-cause-church-sex-abuse-crisis-priesthood/cinI3OcoEqyg7l51YHD72K/story.html?event=event25&fbclid=IwAR0JPd5cOH3I9KT20qngu4gY1y5ZqZJEYW8HSPI3Xh52ezm-9Nb-MtpR2zk

The Vatican lays groundwork for formal debate on married Catholic priests

From Pittsburgh (AP)-

As the Vatican copes with the growing clergy sex abuse scandal and declining number of priests worldwide, it is laying the groundwork to open formal debate on an issue that has long been taboo: opening up the priesthood to married men in parts of the world where clergy are scarce.

Pope Francis has convened a meeting of South American bishops next year focusing on the plight of the church in the Amazon, a vast territory served by far too few priests. During that synod, the question of ordaining married men of proven virtue — so-called “viri probati” — is expected to figure on the agenda.

This week, a two-hour documentary on Italian television is likely to contribute to the conversation. “The Choice: Priests and Love” profiles more than a dozen men in four European countries who are either living clandestinely with women, have created their own unsanctioned church communities where married priests preside at Mass, or left the Catholic priesthood altogether to marry.

More here-

https://share.newsslide.com/ppg/story/bcbba6ca-8ea5-48b8-a1b8-eba933c0f23a/?EditionId=0be11f2d-4e26-4173-9e0a-9e3bd0c22e43&SectionId=41e9b6e9-4c3e-408e-a140-9259a5319a74&IncludeChrome=True&fbclid=IwAR2aOe-oP9aM6veDJUuMVoKHTU3CQmgIZ3MYUDm9LKvzXkxORVV6B_jc78g

Serving isolated parishes may mean ordaining married men, cardinal says

From American Magazine-

The idea of exceptionally ordaining older married men of proven virtue to celebrate the Eucharist in isolated Catholic communities is something that should be discussed, said Cardinal Beniamino Stella, prefect of the Congregation for Clergy.

"It is not about being in favor of or against something, but about attentively evaluating various possibilities without being closed or rigid," the cardinal said in a new book in Italian, "Tutti gli Uomini di Francesco" ("All Francis' Men") released Jan. 22 by Edizioni San Paolo.

The book, by Italian journalist Fabio Marchese Ragona, includes interviews with churchmen named to the College of Cardinals by Pope Francis.

More here-

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/01/22/serving-isolated-parishes-may-mean-ordaining-married-men-cardinal-says

Pope raises prospect of married men becoming priests

From The Telegraph- (Additonal links below)

Pope Francis has requested a debate over allowing married men in the Amazon region of Brazil to become priests, in a controversial move that is likely to outrage conservatives in the Church, Vatican sources say.

The pontiff took the decision to put a partial lifting of priestly celibacy up for discussion and a possible vote by Brazilian bishops following a request made by Cardinal Claudio Hummes, the president of  the Episcopal Commission for the Amazon, Il Messaggero newspaper quoted the sources saying.

Cardinal Hummes reportedly asked Francis to consider ordaining so-called viri probati, married men of great faith, capable of ministering spiritually to the many remote communities in the Amazon where there is a shortage of priests, and evangelical Christians and pagan sects are displacing Catholicism.

More here-

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pope-requests-roman-catholic-priests-145911937.html

also here-

https://aleteia.org/blogs/deacon-greg-kandra/report-pope-raises-prospect-of-more-married-men-becoming-priests/ 

and here-

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/brazilian-bishop-hopes-for-married-priests-female-deacons-from-upcoming-syn

Catholic bishops urged to review celibacy rules amid shortage of priests

From The Guardian-

Catholic bishops in England and Wales are facing a fresh call for a national commission on the ordination of married men amid mounting concern that the church’s celibacy requirement is contributing to a shortage of priests.

The call for a review of celibacy as a condition of priesthood comes after Pope Francis signalled last month he was open to the possibility of ordaining married men under specific conditions. The issue is expected to raised at a synod next year on vocation.

The Movement for Married Clergy (MMaC) is renewing its call for a national commission of bishops, clergy and laity to discuss ways of tackling the shortage of priests. “We’re asking bishops to recognise the issue and examine possible solutions in good faith,” said the MMaC secretary, Chris McDonnell.

A recent editorial in the Catholic Times endorsed the call. “What has the church got to lose by establishing such a commission? Or perhaps more importantly, the focus should concentrate on what the church has to gain from such a move,” it said.

More here-

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/29/catholic-bishops-pressed-to-review-celibacy-rules-shortage-of-priests

Cardinal Kasper: Pope sees married priests debate ‘positively,’ seeks proposals from bishops’ conferences

From Life Site-

German Cardinal Walter Kasper says Pope Francis wants bishops' conferences to submit to him proposals for ordaining married men.

Kasper said this in an interview with Katholisch.de, the official website of the German bishops' conference. Dr. Maike Hickson at One Peter Five translated his remarks.

There is an "urgent need for action" on the question of married priests, Kasper said. Previous discussions on this topic were "not approved officially by Rome," but now the pope is open to the question. Kasper noted Pope Francis hasn't said where he stands on this, but said he views the discussion "positively."

"This discussion is very urgent" given the shortage of priests in Germany, according to Kasper. The entire country only has 40 candidates for the priesthood; in liberal Cardinal Reinhard Marx's archdiocese, there's only one.

More here-

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/cardinal-kasper-pope-francis-sees-married-priests-debate-positively-wants-b

How did celibacy become mandatory for priests?

From The Conversation-

Priestly celibacy, or rather the lack of it, is in the news. There have been allegations of sex orgies, prostitution and pornography against Catholic clerics in Italy. On March 8, Pope Francis suggested, in an interview with a German newspaper, Die Zeit, that the Catholic Church should discuss the tradition of celibacy in light of an increasing scarcity of priests in rural areas, especially in South America.

Although some headlines have suggested that the pope’s latest comments signal a new openness to priestly marriage, neither of these recent developments – the allegations of sex scandals nor the debate about the tradition of priestly celibacy – should be surprising.

Celibate Christians, both monks and clergy, have a long history with scandal. As a scholar of early Christianity, I think it’s important to highlight the fact that Catholic priestly celibacy has never been practiced uniformly and is, in fact, a late development in church practice.

More here-

http://theconversation.com/how-did-celibacy-become-mandatory-for-priests-75031

I'm a married Catholic priest who thinks priests shouldn't get married

From Dallas-

My wife and I, we have four children, all younger than 7. Ours is not a quiet house.

A house of screaming and a house of endless snot, it's also a house of love, grown and multiplied every few years. In a house of little sleep, my hobby these days is simply to sit down; fellow parents know what I mean. Just like that loud and beautiful Kelly family gone viral out of South Korea recently, ours is a perfectly normal family, "normal" understood, of course, in relative terms. It's both exhausting and energizing, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. It is the form and gift of my life, my family.

But here's what's strange about us: I'm a Catholic priest. And that is, as you probably know, mostly a celibate species.

Now the discipline of celibacy, as a Christian practice, is an ancient tradition. Its origins belong to the very mists of early Christianity: to the deserts of Egyptian monasticism, the wilds of ancient Christian Syria and to Luke's gospel. For priests, celibacy has been the universal legal norm in the Catholic West since the 12th century and the de facto norm long before that. Saint Ambrose in the fourth century, for example, wrote about married priests, saying they were to be found only in "backwoods" churches, certainly not in the churches of Rome or Milan.

More here-

http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/03/21/married-catholic-priest-thinks-priests-get-married

Pope Francis Expresses Openness to Ordaining Married Men in Some Cases

From National Catholic Register-

In his first ever interview with a German newspaper, Pope Francis has said the issue of ordaining some married men as priests needs to be considered, but stressed that “voluntary celibacy” is not the solution to the vocations crisis that exists in many parts of the world.

Speaking in the interview to be published tomorrow (March 9) in Die Zeit, Germany’s leading left-leaning newspaper, the Holy Father said the shortage of priests around the world is an “enormous problem” that must be resolved, but added that “voluntary celibacy is not the answer.”

However, he said the issue of viri probati, married men proven in faith and virtue who could be ordained to the priesthood, is a “possibility” that “we have to think about.”

“We must also determine which tasks they can undertake, for example in remote communities,” the Pope said. 

More here-

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/pope-expresses-openness-to-ordaining-married-men-in-some-cases

In Love With a Priest: Support Groups Spread

From The New York Times-

They had not planned on falling in love, but they did.

They did not want to become the objects of malicious gossip, but they are. They had not imagined living a life of furtive affections and secret rendezvous, but that is what has happened since the woman and the priest defied a Roman Catholic Church taboo and became romantically involved.

“Some people see me as a devil, something dirty,” said the woman, who, along with the priest she is involved with, agreed to discuss their situation, sitting for an interview at a hotel in a city far from his parish.

More here-

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/06/world/europe/in-love-with-a-priest-support-groups-spread-.html?_r=0

From Malta-

Pope Francis said late yesterday that he believed that Roman Catholic priests should be celibate but the rule was not an unchangeable dogma, and "the door is always open" to change.

Francis made similar comments when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires but his remarks to reporters on a plane returning from a Middle East trip were the first he has made since becoming pope.
"Celibacy is not a dogma," he said in answer to a question about whether the Catholic Church could some day allow priests to marry as they can in some other Christian Churches.

"It is a rule of life that I appreciate very much and I think it is a gift for the Church but since it is not a dogma, the door is always open," he said.

The Church teaches that a priest should dedicate himself totally to his vocation, essentially taking the Church as his spouse, in order to help fulfil its mission.

More here-

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140527/world/pope-says-he-favours-celibacy-for-priests-but-door-open-to-change.520719

Catholic priest: Why celibacy is right for me

From The Washington Post-

There has been much talk recently about priestly celibacy. Italian Archbishop Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s new Secretary of State, gave an interview to the Venezuelan newspaper El Universal, in which he discussed continuity and change in the Catholic Church. The interviewer raised the question of celibacy, and the archbishop replied that celibacy “is not a church dogma and it can be discussed because it is a church tradition,” dating to the early centuries of the church.

There was nothing new in Parolin’s comments. Celibacy is a church discipline, very different than a dogmatic teaching like the resurrection or doctrines defending the sanctity of all human life. Such teachings go to the heart of the faith and thus cannot be changed. Celibacy is a different kind of rule, open to change.  While celibate priesthood became the universal norm in the Roman Catholic Church in the Middle Ages, the Vatican has always respected the practice of married priests in the Eastern Churches united with Rome, and in recent decades has made special provision for married, Anglican clergy who convert to Catholicism.

More here-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-faith/wp/2013/09/16/catholic-priest-why-celibacy-is-right-for-me/

Meet Father Dad: How married priests would change the Catholic Church

From NBC-

More students in seminaries, more people in the pews, and the pitter-patter of little feet padding through the rectory.

Is that what the Catholic Church would look like if it scrapped centuries of tradition and allowed priests to be married? Or would it lead to higher costs for parishes, conservatives running for the doors, and really awkward divorces? "So we're not only paying for family expenses, college, and all of that — now we're paying alimony, too?" Catholic author Mark Shea wondered.

When Pope Francis' No. 2, Archbishop Pietro Parolin, said last week that the church's policy on celibate clergy is up for discussion, some analysts saw it as a shift in Vatican thinking.

Catholics have divergent views of what would happen if priests could accessorize their vestments with wedding rings.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/15/20477225-meet-father-dad-how-married-priests-would-change-the-catholic-church?lite

Pope Francis: Priest Celibacy Up For Discussion, Pope's No. 2 Says

From Fox-

Archbishop Pietro Parolin, the new Secretary of State of the Vatican, said priest celibacy is "not a church dogma" and is therefore open to discussion as the church embraces a "more democratic spirit" under Pope Francis.

When asked by the interviewer whether there are two different types of dogmas – those created by men and those created by Jesus – Parolin responded "certainly."

"There are dogmas that are defined and untouchable," he said in a Spanish-language video interview with Venezuelan newspaper El Universal on Sunday.

The interviewer asked, "Celibacy is not?"

"Celibacy is not an institution but, look, it is also true that you can discuss it because as you say this is not a dogma, a dogma of the church, it is a church tradition," Parolin said.

Read more:

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2013/09/12/priest-celibacy-up-for-discussion-pope-no-2-says/#ixzz2emHd41oU

Father Alberto Cutié Doesn't Believe Catholic Church Will Take Up Issue of Celibacy

From South Florida-

Father Alberto Cutié, who left the Catholic Church after a scandal stemming from a photo of him on Miami Beach in an embrace with his girlfriend, said he doesn't believe the notion of priesthood celibacy will be taken up by the church anytime soon.

Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski echoed the sentiment on Wednesday too, and said that like marriage, celibacy takes discipline, prayer and dedication.

"In the life of the church celibacy an marriage compliment each other and are not in any way competing with each other," Wenski said.

Archbishop Pietro Parolin, the secretary of state of the Vatican, said the church is open to discussion about the idea of priesthood celibacy being revisited. Pope Francis just last year said he was in favor of maintaining the tradition “for the moment.”

More here-

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Father-Alberto-Cutie-Doesnt-Believe-Catholic-Church-Will-Take-Up-Issue-of-Celibacy-223364771.html

Priestly vocations a challenge for Pope Francis

From Central Florida-

Camilo Sandoval says he faces the choice of a lifetime: He can study engineering in college or he can devote himself to the church.

The 17-year-old from Chile is among the multitude of fervent Roman Catholics who have come to Brazil for the church's World Youth Day, and Pope Francis' success in drawing such youths toward the priesthood could be crucial to an institution that is starving for clergy to serve its growing congregations.

"I'm thinking about being a priest," Sandoval said after arriving at Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome, where much of the Youth Day celebrations will be held. "I feel fulfilled when I participate in vocation days; there is a closeness to God that attracts me. But I haven't decided."

All too many Catholics, from the church's perspective, have chosen the secular path.

Nearly 25 percent of the world's parishes don't have a resident priest, according to Vatican statistics. And while the number of Catholics in the world grew by 68 percent between 1975 and 2010 the number of priests grew by just 1.8 percent, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.

Most new priests are coming from Africa and Asia, with a sharp drop in Europe. And there has been "a downward trend" in the number of prospective Latin American priests in the pipeline, said the Rev. Gabriel Villa, who is the executive secretary of the commission for vocations and ministries of the Latin American Episcopal Council, though he said he had no precise numbers.

More here-

http://www.cfnews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/ap/2013/07/24/Priestly_vocations_a_challenge_for_Pope_Francis.html

Ex-bishop's widow wants optional priestly celibacy

From Michigan-

She uses a wheelchair and carries the weight of her 87 years, but

This woman, whose romance with a bishop and eventual marriage became a major scandal in the 1960s, is such a close friend with Pope Francis that he called her every Sunday when he was Argentina's leading cardinal.

Luro's convinced that he will eventually lead the global church to end mandatory priestly celibacy, a requirement she says "the world no longer understands." She believes this could resolve a global shortage of priests, and persuade many Catholics who are no longer practicing to recommit themselves to the church.

"I think that in time priestly celibacy will become optional," Luro said in an interview with The Associated Press in her home in Buenos Aires, after sending an open letter to the pope stating her case. "I'm sure that Francis will suggest it."

John Paul II, Benedict XVI and other popes before them forbade any open discussion of changing the celibacy rule, and Francis hasn't mentioned the topic since becoming pope last month.

Clelia Luro feels powerful enough to make the Roman Catholic Church pay attention to her campaign to end priestly celibacy.

More here-

http://www.mininggazette.com/page/content.detail/id/309992/Ex-bishop-s-widow-wants-optional-priestly-celibacy-.html?isap=1&nav=5016

UK Catholic lawmakers ask pope to relax celibacy rule

From England (via San Francisco)-

Twenty-one Catholic members of Parliament have written to Pope Francis to ask him to relax the rule on priestly celibacy for Latin-rite priests.

The members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords said in a March 25 letter to the pope that the rule should be changed to allow married men to be ordained priests where pastoral needs required it.

They suggested that it was unfair to allow married former Anglican ministers to be ordained as Catholic priests in England, Wales and Scotland while the church insisted on the celibacy rule for Catholic candidates in those countries.

The letter did not suggest that serving priests should be given permission to marry, and the legislators proposed that the celibacy rule be retained for bishops, as in the Eastern Catholic Churches, which allow married men to be ordained.

They said retaining celibacy for bishops “would signal the continuing high regard we have for those who are able to live a genuinely celibate life.”

“Your two predecessors, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict, guided we are sure by the Holy Spirit, generously permitted the ordination of married Anglican clergy as Roman Catholic priests,” said the letter, released to the media March 27. “These men and their families have proved to be a great blessing to our parishes.

More here-

http://www.catholic-sf.org/ns.php?newsid=2&id=61260