NYC Archbishop OK with married clergy
Monday, March 23, 2009
By Bryan Cones
Comments (3)
The headline may overstate the case a bit, but Archbishop Edward Egan's acknowledgment in a talk radio interview that the Catholic Church ought to consider married clergy is kind of a big deal: "I think [the celibacy rule] has to be looked at. And I am not so sure it wouldn’t be a good idea to decide on the basis of geography and culture not to make an across-the-board determination."
Of course, bishops in Latin America and Africa, where the priest shortage is most severe, have been saying this for decades, and progressives in the U.S. and Europe have as well. The fact that Egan, a solid conservative, is saying so is worth notice.
Sister Christine Schenk of FutureChurch, a liberal advocacy group, hits the nail on the head in her comments in the New York Times article on Egan: "Coming from Egan, I think it is a sign that the conversation is ripening. He’s not the poster child for progressivism. I think it shows we are much closer to having this issue addressed by the Vatican than most people realize."
The contents of any Vatican "address" is still anyone's guess, but the Catholic Churches in both Africa and Latin America are under pressure from the much younger, spirited evangelists of the Pentecostal movements. The priest shortage, and the relative higher age of the Catholic priests available, are making that challenge greater. I, for one, hope that Egan's comments are a sign that even bishops on the right are warming to the necessity of married priests.
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Waldo Emerson
By Anonymous (not verified) on Tuesday, March 24, 2009Waldo Emerson Knockerbocker
Example of Married Roman Catholic Priest
-an Exception to the Rule
SAN ANGELO, TEXAS
804 Ford Street
San Angelo TX 76905
Phone: (325) 651-7500
FAX: (325) 651-6688
http://www.sanangelodiocese.org/pages/diocese.php
"In a special Mass that has been celebrated less than 100 times in the United States since Pope John Paul II first permitted it in 1981, former Episcopal minister Waldo Emerson “Knick” Knickerbocker will be ordained a Roman Catholic priest at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 28 2009, at Sacred Heart Cathedral in San Angelo.
Knickerbocker, who celebrated his ordination as a Catholic deacon in December, has been assigned to St. Theresa Church in Junction and Sacred Heart Church in Menard."
"It is believed there have been approximately 85 such ordinations in the U.S., when an Episcopal priest converts to Catholicism and becomes a priest. Knickerbocker will be the first married man to be ordained a priest for the Diocese of San Angelo."
"Knickerbocker's ordination to the priesthood is in accord with Pope John Paul II's 1981 decision to make an exception to the general rule calling only non-married men to the priesthood.
The “Pastoral Provision” was adopted especially for use in the United States and has also been extended to England and other countries where bishops have requested special permission to ordain former married Anglican or Episcopalian ministers to the Roman Catholic Church."
OPTATAM TOTIUS
By TIMOTHY G. B. O'ROURKE (not verified) on Monday, March 23, 2009Greetings,
If one embraces and promotes one or any document from VII as being the surest way to know the truth because of the authority of a council convened by a Pope then one must accept all the documents from VII as being the most authoritative demonstration of the truth and, accordingly, assent---not dissent --- to that truth, especially when one would decry others in Christendom for not assenting to the truth as declared for belief in any particular document of VII.
Let it be so declared as the most authoritative demonstration of truth:
Students who follow the venerable tradition of celibacy according to the holy and fixed laws of their own rite are to be educated to this state with great care. For renouncing thereby the companionship of marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven (cf. Matt. 19:12), they embrace the Lord with an undivided love altogether befitting the new covenant, bear witness to the resurrection of the world to come (cf. Luke 20:36), and obtain a most suitable aid for the continual exercise of that perfect charity whereby they can become all things to all men in their priestly ministry.
Let them deeply realize how gratefully that state ought to be received, not, indeed, only as commanded by ecclesiastical law, but as a precious gift of God for which they should humbly pray. Through the inspiration and help of the grace of the Holy Spirit let them freely and generously hasten to respond to this gift.
Students ought rightly to acknowledge the duties and dignity of Christian matrimony, which is a sign of the love between Christ and the Church. Let them recognize, however, the surpassing excellence of virginity consecrated to Christ, so that with a maturely deliberate and generous choice they may consecrate themselves to the Lord by a complete gift of body and soul.
They are to be warned of the dangers that threaten their chastity especially in present-day society. Aided by suitable safeguards, both divine and human, let them learn to integrate their renunciation of marriage in such a way that they may suffer in their lives and work not only no harm from celibacy but rather acquire a deeper mastery of soul and body and a fuller maturity, and more perfectly receive the blessedness spoken of in the Gospel.
From our Holy Council Fathers of Vatican II: OPTATAM TOTIUS
http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents...
I guess we will have to have another council. I sure would welcome it.
Timothy+
Ordinatio Sacerdotalis and the Claretians?
By TIMOTHY G. B. O'ROURKE (not verified) on Sunday, March 29, 2009Ordinatio Sacerdotalis and the Claretians?
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