Let Priests marry

[skinut2234]

Enough of this with the Church-

Let these poor soles be with someone- Isn't that the intent and natural part of being a human being??? Why should they be subjected to a life of celibacy?

Someone explain to me what harm this will do-

[Ohio_isforLovers]

Uhh...

Catholics i dont think there allowed to marry cause i danno why..

But christian pastors there mostly all married and got kiddss

[Moai]

As the Church developed, it began to accumulate wealth. If a priest had a son, the wealth of the local parish would go to him, and the church would lose all that money.

 

So, use the Bible to show that priests should be celibate and voila! all that money stays within the Church.

[quankanne]

priest CAN marry. Just not those in the Latin tradition, like Roman Catholic priests, who make a promise of celibacy (agree not to marry). If a Catholic priest wants to marry, he can turn Protestant and have the best of both worlds.

 

though honestly, after more than a decade of working closely with priests, I don't see why one would want to attempt life as a married clergy – a parish, no matter HOW small, commands a great deal of time and energy to run/operate. And these guys get pulled in so many directions when they're doing their ministry properly, I don't see how an average marriage would survive that. Practically speaking, these guys and their families would have a hard time of it because of the depth of involvement.

 

heck, I see how it affects our married deacons, who have the double vocation you're proposing for priests, and it's a very delicate balancing act. Add into the fray that Catholics consider marriage a sacrament, and therefore divorce is a huge no-no, though anyone and their dog can easily petition for divorce … a married Catholic priest dealing with the normal situations of marriage suddenly having to address the topic of divorce because Mama isn't happy being Father's wife? Not good at all.

 

frankly, I'm not sure why outsiders seem to feel they've got the answer to a situation that's already been addressed*– these men go into the priesthood with a pretty good idea of what sacrfices they will make as members of a celibate clergy. In fact, the Church addresses the subject of vocation, be it as a single person, as a married person or as a religious.

[Moose]

no matter HOW small, commands a great deal of time and energy to run/operate. And these guys get pulled in so many directions when they're doing their ministry properly, I don't see how an average marriage would survive that. Practically speaking, these guys and their families would have a hard time of it because of the depth of involvement.

Matt 19:12....and some notes:

others, through the gift of God, and under the influence of his grace, abstain from marriage cheerfully and contentedly, in order to be more useful in the interest of religion; but the number of either of these is but few, in comparison of such who choose a conjugal state, and with whom it is right to enter into it, notwithstanding all the difficulties that may attend it.

[skinut2234]

So then why do so many resort to other types of relations or children?

My arguement is it simply goes against human nature. I am agnostic myself in my beliefs- but cannot imagine what these poor men go through- I understand they thought it through at the time and what not - but does not seem right to me- (and I cannot imagine they are that much busier then the average man or woman......)

[quankanne]

try being on call 24/7 with your "job" – even when Father Joe gets his regularly scheduled day off, we've got people calling the chancery office (where he only works one or two afternoons a week) looking for the guy. And God forbid when he goes on vacation! Then the deacons start getting the calls asking where Father is and how they *must* contact him immediately ... almost like being parent to a thousand-member community of four- and five-year-olds! And that's without emergency calls from families in crisis, from families who've had someone die or get killed, from parishioners who think they've got a special "in" with Father therefore he's got to meet with them for dinner weekly ... like I said, I don't see how a family is going to work into that kind of schedule because these guys barely have time to breathe ...

 

So then why do so many resort to other types of relations or children?

My arguement is it simply goes against human nature.

 

I won't deny the fact that some priests stray, or that some abuse defenseless children, but you've got to remember that is NOT the norm, just the highlighted exceptions. While they choose not to marry, they don't exactly give up relationships with family or friends, or even their brother clergy (and I'm not suggesting sick or sexual relatinships, but simple healthy friendships). You seem to have it in your head that these guys are completely cut off, but they're not.

 

and you seem to feel that the choices they made are bad because they don't reflect what you feel is the norm. This is from a fairly recent interview I did with the prioress of a cloistered monastery within our diocese, and I think it helps put into perspective how religious men and women view their vocation as celibates:

 

“In a certain sense you do throw a lot of things away, although that’s really a rather poor expression,” Sister Mary John said. “You just put it aside those things. How many husbands and wives have to give up a great many things to allow their spouse to progress in their career, in their military service? They are ‘throwing away’ a lot of things, but whenever you make a choice for one thing, you always have to give up something else.

 

“Even when you go to Baskin Robbins for ice cream, if you choose chocolate, then you’re not choosing vanilla or strawberry or any of the 49,000 other flavors,” she said, smiling. “We don’t think about it very often, the fact that any choice we make, we leave a lot of things behind.”

[Moai]

priest CAN marry. Just not those in the Latin tradition, like Roman Catholic priests, who make a promise of celibacy (agree not to marry). If a Catholic priest wants to marry, he can turn Protestant and have the best of both worlds.

 

Nope. Priests cannot marry. Protestant faiths do not have priests. They have pastors or preachers, but that is not the same as a priest, even remotely.

 

One of my religion professors was once a priest, and he went through more hoops than you can imagine to maintian his good standing in the church and marry the woman he loved. Just "converting" is not that easy.

 

Catholics believe in transubstantiation, for example. They really believe that the Eucharist becomes the actual body of Jesus at some point. I am not aware of any Protestant faith that believes that to be so. If you are Protestant, no big deal. If you are Cathloic--especially a priest--VERY BIG DEAL. And that is one of many things that would keep you from casually becoming Protestant just to get married.

 

Do Christians just casually become Muslims just to get married? Just because in the US Catholics aren't killing Protestants doesn't mean that the divide between the two is not huge and that both don't think the other is going to Hell.

 

though honestly, after more than a decade of working closely with priests, I don't see why one would want to attempt life as a married clergy – a parish, no matter HOW small, commands a great deal of time and energy to run/operate. And these guys get pulled in so many directions when they're doing their ministry properly, I don't see how an average marriage would survive that. Practically speaking, these guys and their families would have a hard time of it because of the depth of involvement.

Married clergy get their wives to help them. All Protestant faiths have married clergy, and don't seem to have any problems. I wonder why anyone would want to be clergy at all, but that is a whole nother issue.

 

heck, I see how it affects our married deacons, who have the double vocation you're proposing for priests, and it's a very delicate balancing act. Add into the fray that Catholics consider marriage a sacrament, and therefore divorce is a huge no-no, though anyone and their dog can easily petition for divorce … a married Catholic priest dealing with the normal situations of marriage suddenly having to address the topic of divorce because Mama isn't happy being Father's wife? Not good at all.

Why not become Protestant and get divorced as much as you want?

 

frankly, I'm not sure why outsiders seem to feel they've got the answer to a situation that's already been addressed*– these men go into the priesthood with a pretty good idea of what sacrfices they will make as members of a celibate clergy. In fact, the Church addresses the subject of vocation, be it as a single person, as a married person or as a religious.

Frankly, I'm not sure why insiders don't take the time to learn about what they actually beleive, or what their assertions mean followed to their logical conclusions.