Bishop Edward Daly Calls for Married Priests

[Anonymous]

would be great news. The abuse scandal was really more of a gay-priest problem than a pedophile problem.

[Anonymous]

Allowing priests to marry won't solve the sex abuse issues

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:would be great news. The abuse scandal was really more of a gay-priest problem than a pedophile problem.

I am not sure what you mean by this. Are you saying that the priest who abused those boys were gay and NOT pedophiles and that is why they abused them??? Being gay doesn't make you abuse people!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get it.

What don't you get? An iconic bishop in the Catholic Church is calling for an end to required celibacy for priests. It is against Church doctrine. Usually these guys are excommunicated but how can you do that to him?

Celibacy is a discipline, not a doctrine. There have always been married priests, and in some Rites, there are currently married priests.

Excommunication would not be an issue. I don't think you understand the Church very accurately.

How disingenuous can you possibly be?

1. Sacerdotalis Caelibatus is Church Law.
2. Yes yes we know there are married priests who came through conversion. Stop trying to pull the wool over readers eyes. That is a loophole that can't be fixed.
3. If you marry as a priest, you get excommunicated.
4. If you perform activism as a priest about married priesthood, by marrying priests, you get excommunicated.
5. If you a priest defy the church on teaching such as advocacy in groups like Married Priests Now! you get excommunicated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:would be great news. The abuse scandal was really more of a gay-priest problem than a pedophile problem.

No, actually the abuse scandal, as described in the independent study commissioned by the Catholic Church itself, says it is NOT a gay issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't get the image either.

I'm Catholic. And my priest thinks that priests should, and ultimately will, be allowed to marry. There already are married Catholic Priests. If you are a married Priest in the Episcopalian Church and you decide to become a Catholic Priest, you can remain married. However, married Catholic Priests are rarely seen in the parish. They are usually behind a desk.

The image is Daly waving a bloody rag to prevent fire as they carried off the wounded from Bloody Sunday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get it.

What don't you get? An iconic bishop in the Catholic Church is calling for an end to required celibacy for priests. It is against Church doctrine. Usually these guys are excommunicated but how can you do that to him?

Celibacy is a discipline, not a doctrine. There have always been married priests, and in some Rites, there are currently married priests.

Excommunication would not be an issue. I don't think you understand the Church very accurately.

There have always been and there currently are married Roman Catholic priests?

There is a loophole and it's very specific. If you are an Anglican/Episcopal priest, already married, and you convert to Catholicism, the Church cannot deny either your sacramental marriage nor your ordination. It accepts them both.

Of course the fact that these priests can fulfill their duties makes the papal encyclical on the subject kind of silly.

[Anonymous]

What does it say in the painting? "life rights". Meh. Priest should be married. Just like rabbis. It is a life of impoverishment (a cleric), but it would rehab the PR of the church what with all the molestations.

[Anonymous]

Child-abusing priests are not different from child-abusing teachers. They have easy access to their victims. Allowing priests to marry wouldn't solve that or change that.

Gay priests are a separate issue. I don't have an issue with gays in the priesthood; I would expect them to model monogamous behavior in their relationships, like I would a straight priest. Married priesthood wouldn't change/solve anything there.

I think it's possible that the celibacy doctrine attracts some people who are ashamed of their sexuality and hope to ignore it and make it go away. I've long wondered if maybe that was behind some of the gay or abuse scandals in the Catholic church.

Allowing priests to marry or to already be married might remove a big "barrier to entry" for people who wanted to be priests. I suspect the Catholic church will end up moving in that direction. (would they consider female priests, too?)

[Anonymous]

OK the image is throwing everyone. It is a monument based on a famous photo of Daly on the day of Bloody Sunday:

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get it.

What don't you get? An iconic bishop in the Catholic Church is calling for an end to required celibacy for priests. It is against Church doctrine. Usually these guys are excommunicated but how can you do that to him?

Celibacy is a discipline, not a doctrine. There have always been married priests, and in some Rites, there are currently married priests.

Excommunication would not be an issue. I don't think you understand the Church very accurately.

How disingenuous can you possibly be?

1. Sacerdotalis Caelibatus is Church Law.
2. Yes yes we know there are married priests who came through conversion. Stop trying to pull the wool over readers eyes. That is a loophole that can't be fixed.
3. If you marry as a priest, you get excommunicated.
4. If you perform activism as a priest about married priesthood, by marrying priests, you get excommunicated.
5. If you a priest defy the church on teaching such as advocacy in groups like Married Priests Now! you get excommunicated.

3, 4, and 5 are all actions of disobedience and scandal. The excommunication (which would be an absolute last resort) would come from the actions, not the ideas expressed by Bishop Daly.

A priest leaving the priesthood and getting married (as one did at my parish about a decade ago) would violate his vows just as a married father who abandons his wife and kids and begins another relationship would violate his vows. But Catholics who cheat and divorce are not automatically excommunicated. In fact, excommunication is more a description of what someone has done--removed themselves willingly from communion with the Church--than an imposed punishment.

This is what the Catechism says about celibacy for the priesthood:

1599 “In the Latin Church the sacrament of Holy Orders for the presbyterate is normally conferred only on candidates who are ready to embrace celibacy freely and who publicly manifest their intention of staying celibate for the love of God’s kingdom and the service of men.”

The Catechism then expounds upon the radical Christian witness that celibacy provides to the world:

1579 “All the ordained ministers of the Latin Church, with the exception of permanent deacons, are normally chosen from among men of faith who live a celibate life and who intend to remain celibate ‘for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.’ Called to consecrate themselves with undivided heart to the Lord and to ‘the affairs of the Lord,’ they give themselves entirely to God and to men. Celibacy is a sign of this new life to the service of which the Church’s minister is consecrated; accepted with a joyous heart celibacy radiantly proclaims the Reign of God.”

Sacerdotalis Caelibatus is an encyclical from 1967 explaining the Church's practice of celibacy for priests, but it is not dogma. A discipline, not a doctrine. That is the crucial distinction.

The Roman Rite currently subscribes to this discipline of celibacy. But other Rites in communion with the Pope, such as the Eastern rite, do not practice this discipline.

I hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get it.

What don't you get? An iconic bishop in the Catholic Church is calling for an end to required celibacy for priests. It is against Church doctrine. Usually these guys are excommunicated but how can you do that to him?

Celibacy is a discipline, not a doctrine. There have always been married priests, and in some Rites, there are currently married priests.

Excommunication would not be an issue. I don't think you understand the Church very accurately.

How disingenuous can you possibly be?

1. Sacerdotalis Caelibatus is Church Law.
2. Yes yes we know there are married priests who came through conversion. Stop trying to pull the wool over readers eyes. That is a loophole that can't be fixed.
3. If you marry as a priest, you get excommunicated.
4. If you perform activism as a priest about married priesthood, by marrying priests, you get excommunicated.
5. If you a priest defy the church on teaching such as advocacy in groups like Married Priests Now! you get excommunicated.

3, 4, and 5 are all actions of disobedience and scandal. The excommunication (which would be an absolute last resort) would come from the actions, not the ideas expressed by Bishop Daly.

A priest leaving the priesthood and getting married (as one did at my parish about a decade ago) would violate his vows just as a married father who abandons his wife and kids and begins another relationship would violate his vows. But Catholics who cheat and divorce are not automatically excommunicated. In fact, excommunication is more a description of what someone has done--removed themselves willingly from communion with the Church--than an imposed punishment.

This is what the Catechism says about celibacy for the priesthood:

1599 “In the Latin Church the sacrament of Holy Orders for the presbyterate is normally conferred only on candidates who are ready to embrace celibacy freely and who publicly manifest their intention of staying celibate for the love of God’s kingdom and the service of men.”

The Catechism then expounds upon the radical Christian witness that celibacy provides to the world:

1579 “All the ordained ministers of the Latin Church, with the exception of permanent deacons, are normally chosen from among men of faith who live a celibate life and who intend to remain celibate ‘for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.’ Called to consecrate themselves with undivided heart to the Lord and to ‘the affairs of the Lord,’ they give themselves entirely to God and to men. Celibacy is a sign of this new life to the service of which the Church’s minister is consecrated; accepted with a joyous heart celibacy radiantly proclaims the Reign of God.”

Sacerdotalis Caelibatus is an encyclical from 1967 explaining the Church's practice of celibacy for priests, but it is not dogma. A discipline, not a doctrine. That is the crucial distinction.

The Roman Rite currently subscribes to this discipline of celibacy. But other Rites in communion with the Pope, such as the Eastern rite, do not practice this discipline.

I hope this helps.

ok you are being really technical to a bunch of people who do not know the ins and outs of latae sententiae, etc. Many priests have been removed by the CDF from their duties for such things like Fr. Curran for example. For their publicly held beliefs, not just for their actions, and this is the point of the post.

Even more, In Nebraska, a Bishop excommunicated anyone who joined "Call to Action", a group dedicated to changes in the priesthood. This is advocacy, not action. And it was backed by the Vatican. Here it is in CNS (yes some of us actually read this stuff) http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0606995.htm

[Anonymous]

ok you are being really technical to a bunch of people who do not know the ins and outs of latae sententiae, etc. Many priests have been removed by the CDF from their duties for such things like Fr. Curran for example. For their publicly held beliefs, not just for their actions, and this is the point of the post.

Even more, In Nebraska, a Bishop excommunicated anyone who joined "Call to Action", a group dedicated to changes in the priesthood. This is advocacy, not action. And it was backed by the Vatican. Here it is in CNS (yes some of us actually read this stuff) http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0606995.htm

This is getting very technical, but as you said, the issues were the public nature of their repudiation of Church teaching and their disobedience. Their public actions and words constituted scandal. The Church basically acknowledged their decision to live in open defiance. It respects the free will of the person and protects the Church from misunderstandings about official Church positions. For example, Catholics for a Free Choice misuses the Church's name to advocate a position in direct contradiction of Church teaching. So the Church disavows any association with the organization and its members.

Thank you for the link!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

ok you are being really technical to a bunch of people who do not know the ins and outs of latae sententiae, etc. Many priests have been removed by the CDF from their duties for such things like Fr. Curran for example. For their publicly held beliefs, not just for their actions, and this is the point of the post.

Even more, In Nebraska, a Bishop excommunicated anyone who joined "Call to Action", a group dedicated to changes in the priesthood. This is advocacy, not action. And it was backed by the Vatican. Here it is in CNS (yes some of us actually read this stuff) http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0606995.htm

This is getting very technical, but as you said, the issues were the public nature of their repudiation of Church teaching and their disobedience. Their public actions and words constituted scandal. The Church basically acknowledged their decision to live in open defiance. It respects the free will of the person and protects the Church from misunderstandings about official Church positions. For example, Catholics for a Free Choice misuses the Church's name to advocate a position in direct contradiction of Church teaching. So the Church disavows any association with the organization and its members.

Thank you for the link!

Well so back to the point, I'm wondering if they will take him on over this. He's an icon and he has a book coming out, and he is heard. On the other hand, there is not much they can take from him since he is already retired, and the position of the church is not too great in Ireland these days.

[Anonymous]

Catholic church banned the marriage of priests because it was cheaper for the congregation to support a minister without a family, and there is no-one to inherit so the church gets everything.

This teaching is not in the bible.
But then a lot of the things in the catholic church are not in the bible
Jesus never said: Do not marry a priest.
He never banned contraception