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Hi, William —
Thanks for the question.
When our Lord instituted the Church,
having a married priesthood was allowed
because the Church was just in Her
infancy. That said, let's remember
the two premiere models for our life
in the Scriptures were celibate:
- Jesus Our Lord, the Ultimate
Head of our Church, and
- St. Paul, who encouraged celibacy — 1 Corinthians 7:7-8
As the Church grew, She began to
see how the holy priesthood was a
full-time family role for the priest.
The Roman rite, by discipline, not
doctrine, requires a celibate
priesthood. In the Church, we view
priests as spiritual fathers of their
parishioners. Anyone, including a
priest, who sees the priest as a
bachelor, doesn't see the holy priesthood
in the correct way.
An
important note:
Men who become priests are celibate of
their own choosing!
No one is forcing them to do anything
they don't choose to do on their
own accord.
As my colleague John said in another
posting:
There is no dispensation in the
Roman Rite, for someone already
in the Roman Rite, to become a
married priest. Yes, there are
married Roman Rite priests who
are married but they are former
Protestant ministers who were
already married ministers before
they came into the Church.
For the most part, this is done
with Anglicans and Episcopalians
and to a lesser degree with Lutherans
and Methodists. |
It's my understanding that if the
wife, of a former Protestant minister
who becomes Catholic, passes,
the priest, as is the case with anyone
born into the Roman Rite, may not
re-marry or marry.
By discipline, the Church does allow
married priest in Eastern-Rite Catholic
Churches.
Thanks for writing!
Mike Humphrey
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