- Pope Francis wants to allow married men to be ordained as priests.
- Pope Francis wants to allow already-ordained priests to marry.
Ladies and gentlemen, the differences between the two are not trivial. Regarding the first, there is precedent for this:
- In eastern rites of the Catholic Church, married men are ordained to the priesthood.
- There have been cases of whole Anglican parishes converting to the Catholic faith (often occasioned by the moral corruption of the Anglican faith). Their clergy, usually married, have been ordained as Roman Catholic priests.
- Obviously, though, the preceding scenarios are not applicable to married men in the Roman rite.
- Just to clarify, I am not indicating approval of the first case. I am illustrating that the two cases cannot be seen as equivalent.
Regarding the second case, though, there is absolutely no precedent for it. In the eastern rites, no unmarried priest is permitted to marry. If a priest's wife dies, he may not remarry. If Roman rite priests were allowed to marry, they would be in violation of their vows of celibacy.
St. Bridget of Sweden recounted a vision in which Our Lady spoke of the second scenario. If that is Pope Francis' intentions, he may be setting himself up for some serious eternal consequences. Even if it's merely the first, one can see how that course of action would easily segue into the second and its attendant catastrophes.
I was taught, as a child, that in mission countries [e.g. Africa] a village elder would be empowered to baptise [a power not required in any event] conduct marriages, etc., etc., which were then solemnised when the priest came round again. The proliferation of the Lay Diaconate in some diocese, one even listing their wives as part of, was an early move to married clergy.
ReplyDeleteYou are right on top of this, D.C.
ReplyDeleteAs one catechetical priest put it back when he was on EWTN:
"In the history of the Church have married men been allowed to become priests? Yes. In the history of the Church have priests been able to marry? No."
I suspect the media has flubbed this up.
Catechist Kev
There is a swiftness unparalleled [even in the U.S. societal takedown] by Pope Francis and his comrades covering from all angles the morality of the Church. The list from many directions appears to be:
ReplyDelete. unusual unions covering the divorced and remarried without Church authorization and active intimacy, those living together unmarried and actively intimate, those in same sex unions, and perhaps now Priests (in any of these or other unions)
. a possible reversal of Humanae Vitae
. not to mention accompaniment/dialogue/mercy meaning license with intrinsic evils vs. acknowledgement of evil/immature response or no response to questions/a swift kick/the boot.
Trust in the Lord.
"If that is Pope Francis' intentions, he may be setting himself up for some serious eternal consequences."
ReplyDeleteUhhhh....that ship of eternal consequences for heinously evil actions against Holy Mother Church has SAILED for this clown. Yeah, yeah, yeah.....he could always repent, I know. And Devin Patrick Kelley may have repented with his last breath. I wouldn't hold my current breath for either. All things being equal; as you live, so will you die.
And yes....I pray EVERY DAY for the conversion of jorge bergoglio to Catholicism, and public repentance of his grave sin in attempting to destroy Christ's Church.