I know a Jesuit who argues with me that priests should be able to marry. Needless to say we argue a lot. He also voted for Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell. Like I said we argue a lot. So I called him yesterday after reading this in the news:
Speaking, in what he thought was a private conversation, (Governor Ed) Rendell called the selection of Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano to head the Department of Homeland Security perfect “Because for that job, you have to have no life.
Janet has no family. Perfect. She can devote 19, 20 hours a day to it.”
So I told my Jesuit friend that his buddy Ed Rendell believes some jobs are too important to be forced to compete with having a spouse and a family. And she’s just protecting human bodies. Now just imagine how much more important a job is that involves the salvation of eternal souls like priests.
He wasn’t amused.
December 10, 2008 at 2:12 pm
I favor married priests. We get along just fine with them in the East. Our Orthodox brethren do well with them too.
The whole Celibacy requirement was just an invention to stop guild domination in the West back in the medieval times. It should become optional once more.
Just imagine how great the Church would be if good Catholic fathers such as yourself could be ordained. Why, we wouldn’t have nearly as much of this liturgical and doctrinal dissent. Plus, every parish would begin acting more like a family and less like a business.
December 10, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Is that a parody or a serious argument?
December 10, 2008 at 2:41 pm
The bride of Christ. In persona Christi.
December 10, 2008 at 3:06 pm
I have a friend who grew up a minister’s son. He said it was AWFUL. Their parents had no time for them, were missing school plays because of dying parishoners, etc.
Personally, I think the IDEAL jobs for dads are regular hours and enough flexibility to take off when there’s a family crisis. (admittedly, these don’t pay as well as soul-sucking 80 hour a week jobs… but thats the sacrifice thing.)
Kids, especially small ones, are so time consuming, I don’t know HOW someone could be a good dad and a good priest.
December 10, 2008 at 3:12 pm
I completely agree, Deirdre.
December 10, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Well, hmm.. I’m not against the celibate priesthood, but I also attend a Ukrainian Catholic church when I can, and the priest there is married and a parent. I think there are some differences between how the two “lungs” of the church work that facilitate this, and it’s also not so simple as to say well, the Eastern rite churches have them, because they have other conditions as well.
One of these is that married Eastern Rite priests can’t become bishops (eparchs, etc., as the various churches call them), so the episcopate is celibate. Another is that, atleast in the US, they don’t seem to tend towards “super-parish” models – even the Ukrainian church, which is the largest of the Eastern Rite churches, is a minority in Ukraine. So, there are usually fewer people calling upon the priest. And another is that there is not a tradition in the Eastern Rite of daily Mass (or Divine Liturgy), but instead of pre-sanctified liturgies once a week in Lent, for instance, different prayers of the hours, etc. On Good Friday, for instance, there is no reception of Eucharist, but instead they have Vespers at the Tomb. If any Eastern Rite Catholics read this blog, perhaps they can fill in or correct my details, as I haven’t done as much reading as I’d like to.
I guess that’s a long way of saying, I don’t think we can unequivocably say that men can’t be good fathers and good priests at the same time. I think we can say, however, that the role differentiation between the Rite that disallowes it and the ones that do allow it are significant.
There is also some contention on this issue because when Eastern Rite Catholics arrived in the US, many US Latin Rite bishops effectively shut out married priests, prompting some to become Orthodox (eg. Fr. Alexei Toth), and an order of celibacy being imposed upon the Ruthenians, despite it not being their tradition, because Latin Rite bishops felt threatened by it.
Sorry for the dissertation.. I have strong Eastern Rite leanings and I just felt that the Eastern lung could use some exercise. 🙂
December 10, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Well said, Nzie.
December 10, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Very informative and interesting, Nzie.
December 10, 2008 at 9:43 pm
A few years back I had a good Ruthenian friend from the east. It seemed to me that many do still choose celibacy as an ideal. Yet, I met other Romanian seminarians who were scandalous in their relationships with women.
I think in the west the the delicate balance of allowing married priests and promoting celibacy would not hold together.
December 10, 2008 at 10:39 pm
How do you mean “an ideal”? I’m asking because celibacy is considered sacrificing a good (married life/marital intimacy/having children).
Glad the above post was informative… I am trying to decide what to do about Rites – I love both, but the Byzantine Rite pulls at my heartstrings.
December 11, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Anonymous said “The bride of Christ. In persona Christi,” and that may summarize it for you, atleast for priesthood celibacy. The Priest is wedded to Christ and his Church. When a priest lives celibate he imitates Christ. Its truly beautiful!
It was put to me by a professor that celibate Christians are living as the Saints in heaven where there is no marriage.