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Should priests be allowed to marry?

Josie

Josie

*probably reading smut*
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I remember a high school teacher of mine several years ago who said that he believes the Catholic church will allow priests to be married in his lifetime. What do you all think? Should they? Why or why not?
 
Most of the Catholic priests sexually abusing children have been homosexuals

I would add to the question this - if they are allowed to marry would they have to marry women?
 
Josie said:
I remember a high school teacher of mine several years ago who said that he believes the Catholic church will allow priests to be married in his lifetime. What do you all think? Should they? Why or why not?
Click to expand...

You mean so that recruitment is easier?
 
Mac77 said:
Most of the Catholic priests sexually abusing children have been homosexuals

I would add to the question this - if they are allowed to marry would they have to marry women?
Click to expand...

I never looked it up, but were most pedophiles among sports trainers and in boarding schools mostly homosexual too? It would be odd, as the two afflictions have different pathologies, I had thought.
 
Josie said:
I remember a high school teacher of mine several years ago who said that he believes the Catholic church will allow priests to be married in his lifetime. What do you all think? Should they? Why or why not?
Click to expand...

Yes, they should be allowed to marry. And, Josie? I can't remember the last time this was brought up on DP. Great post.

Like it or not, marriage, or at least quasi-permanent relationships, are a normal part of our lives. To demand celibacy from our priests is to ask them to be anomalies in our world. To deprive them of the life experiences that would help them better understand their charges. My instincts ALSO tell me that they aren't always deprived. They just keep their natural proclivities secret. Not a good thing.

I've never investigated the church's reasoning behind this archaic rule, but I'm a follow-thee-money kind of gal, so I'm betting it was originated to keep the priests' fortune, whatever that might be, in the hands of the church.

Demanding celibacy, not allowing priests (and nuns for that matter) to marry is unnatural. And I think your high school teacher is right. Soon...
 
Josie said:
I remember a high school teacher of mine several years ago who said that he believes the Catholic church will allow priests to be married in his lifetime. What do you all think? Should they? Why or why not?
Click to expand...

Yes, of course.
 
Josie said:
I remember a high school teacher of mine several years ago who said that he believes the Catholic church will allow priests to be married in his lifetime. What do you all think? Should they? Why or why not?
Click to expand...

Well, while no Catholic priests are allowed to marry, married men may become priests in the Eastern Rite churches. In the Latin Rite, married men who are former ministers in closely related protestant sects (Anglican or Lutheran, usually) may receive a dispensation to become ordained as Catholic priests.
 
joG said:
I never looked it up, but were most pedophiles among sports trainers and in boarding schools mostly homosexual too? It would be odd, as the two afflictions have different pathologies, I had thought.
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If they choose to only have sex with their own gender...

Otherwise, how do you separate the two?
 
I believe the reason behind the no marriage rule has to do with who you are devoted to.
The early church thought marriage would cause a conflict of interest.
On the down side, it gave men who for whatever reason were not attracted to women,
a place in polite society. ( No one questioned why a priest was not married.)
At this stage, it could improve the pool of candidates for the priesthood.
 
I think this should be entirely up to the Catholic Church.
 
X Factor said:
I think this should be entirely up to the Catholic Church.
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Of course it should. I'm asking if the Catholic church will ever make that change.
 
Catholic priests were not always celibate. In 1123, their marriages were declared invalid by the First Lateran Council under Pope Calistus II. I can't believe that a decree that broke apart established marriages and families was ever right or moral, whatever the reasoning might have been.

https://www.futurechurch.org/brief-history-of-celibacy-in-catholic-church
 
MaggieD said:
Yes, they should be allowed to marry. And, Josie? I can't remember the last time this was brought up on DP. Great post.

Like it or not, marriage, or at least quasi-permanent relationships, are a normal part of our lives. To demand celibacy from our priests is to ask them to be anomalies in our world. To deprive them of the life experiences that would help them better understand their charges. My instincts ALSO tell me that they aren't always deprived. They just keep their natural proclivities secret. Not a good thing.

I've never investigated the church's reasoning behind this archaic rule, but I'm a follow-thee-money kind of gal, so I'm betting it was originated to keep the priests' fortune, whatever that might be, in the hands of the church.

Demanding celibacy, not allowing priests (and nuns for that matter) to marry is unnatural. And I think your high school teacher is right. Soon...
Click to expand...

The reasoning was always to have the priests focused on God and their flock, not on their wife and kids. Having known a lot of pastors in my life, I can tell you that every one of them who was married said that that the biggest challenge was balancing family and ministry. The ministry doesn't have a time-clock, so at any time, you may be called up. It also demands a lot more time than most people realize and that time seems to always come from the time that should be devoted to their families. This kind of thing is why the Catholic Church made the choice to demand celibacy from it's priests. Yes, it has a cost in the fact that there is whole chunk of life that Catholic priests have very little frame of reference to deal with, but it also has the benefit of someone who is fully committed to the ministry and not having to divide their time.
 
faithful_servant said:
The reasoning was always to have the priests focused on God and their flock, not on their wife and kids. Having known a lot of pastors in my life, I can tell you that every one of them who was married said that that the biggest challenge was balancing family and ministry. The ministry doesn't have a time-clock, so at any time, you may be called up. It also demands a lot more time than most people realize and that time seems to always come from the time that should be devoted to their families. This kind of thing is why the Catholic Church made the choice to demand celibacy from it's priests. Yes, it has a cost in the fact that there is whole chunk of life that Catholic priests have very little frame of reference to deal with, but it also has the benefit of someone who is fully committed to the ministry and not having to divide their time.
Click to expand...

One of my oldest and closest friends is the daughter and sister of Episcopalian priests. She collects Dia de Los Muertes and Our Lady of Gaudalupe art but is very much a secularist, and a main reason is the resentment she still feels at how her family life was continually disrupted and how her mother was burdened by the demands of being a clergyman's wife. It's a tough row to hoe. I've known three Episcopalian priests who discovered their vocation in their 40's and whose wives promptly told them, "I married a man, not a priest" and promptly divorced them.

There are married Catholic priests. I know two (both former Episcopalian priests). I agree with X; whatever the RCC decides is its business. But if I had to guess, I'd say it won't make that change.
 
Josie said:
Of course it should. I'm asking if the Catholic church will ever make that change.
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I'd much prefer that the CC jump on board with birth control, but hey, any step in the right direction is a good step.
 
faithful_servant said:
The reasoning was always to have the priests focused on God and their flock, not on their wife and kids. Having known a lot of pastors in my life, I can tell you that every one of them who was married said that that the biggest challenge was balancing family and ministry. The ministry doesn't have a time-clock, so at any time, you may be called up. It also demands a lot more time than most people realize and that time seems to always come from the time that should be devoted to their families. This kind of thing is why the Catholic Church made the choice to demand celibacy from it's priests. Yes, it has a cost in the fact that there is whole chunk of life that Catholic priests have very little frame of reference to deal with, but it also has the benefit of someone who is fully committed to the ministry and not having to divide their time.
Click to expand...

That's really no different from any other demanding job. And given that some (all?) Protestant ministers and rabbis can marry and seem to do their jobs well enough I don't think it's a realistic objection.

I think the church is being foolish in not allowing married people to become priests or nuns for that matter. As you point out how can someone who hasn't been married really relate to the problems of married people? As well I have to imagine that many people don't even consider being priests or nuns because of the celibacy requirement.
 
Josie said:
I remember a high school teacher of mine several years ago who said that he believes the Catholic church will allow priests to be married in his lifetime. What do you all think? Should they? Why or why not?
Click to expand...

Most religions allow their priests to marry. The tradition of the RCC priests not marrying is not part of the dogma, but was it wasn't officially added as mandatory until the 11th century (the tradition stared supposedly in the 4th century).

There seems that the numbers of Catholic priests and nuns are dwindling... and part of that is the Celibacy and not allowing to marry... much less people are willing to make the commitment. It could be argued that allowing priests to marry would take away the barrier for a number of people from becoming priests. Seeing the attitudes the heirarchy, I think that is more likely to happen that allowing women to become priests
 
Dragonfly said:
I'd much prefer that the CC jump on board with birth control, but hey, any step in the right direction is a good step.
Click to expand...

Meh. I assume there aren't many Catholics that follow that anyway.
 
MaggieD said:
Yes, they should be allowed to marry. And, Josie? I can't remember the last time this was brought up on DP. Great post.

Like it or not, marriage, or at least quasi-permanent relationships, are a normal part of our lives. To demand celibacy from our priests is to ask them to be anomalies in our world. To deprive them of the life experiences that would help them better understand their charges. My instincts ALSO tell me that they aren't always deprived. They just keep their natural proclivities secret. Not a good thing.

I've never investigated the church's reasoning behind this archaic rule, but I'm a follow-thee-money kind of gal, so I'm betting it was originated to keep the priests' fortune, whatever that might be, in the hands of the church.

Demanding celibacy, not allowing priests (and nuns for that matter) to marry is unnatural. And I think your high school teacher is right. Soon...
Click to expand...

Actually there is a biblical basis for it which I'll explain later if you're interested.
 
I don't see how Catholic Priests get anything done without a wife to help them. Genesis 2:18.
 
Josie said:
I remember a high school teacher of mine several years ago who said that he believes the Catholic church will allow priests to be married in his lifetime. What do you all think? Should they? Why or why not?
Click to expand...

If you want to preach the word but also want to be married then convert to one of the denominations that allows that. The Catholic church has a tradition of priests remaining celibate and the idea is that is couched in the teachings that marriage requires an emphasis on worldly matters while the unmarried is free to focus on spiritual matters.

Dispute it if you like but it's a long standing tradition in the Roman Catholic church and, unless Francis chooses to change it, those who wish to preach can do so from the laity or choose another denomination.
 
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