The young ones are famous for bringing about a lot of changes in a very short time. This happens in a school, business company, local council, politics and in any other sphere where human beings interact. We all know the result. Most probably most people reject change and may turn the table onto the younger ones. ‘Too soon’ and ‘too drastic’ are some of the famous sayings heard in everyday life.
Patience is not something which could be taught like in a school. It has be mastered slowly and by inner reflection. The person has to continue struggling to bring about changes, yet it has to pick up the right wave in order to bring about small changes. In other words: “Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is “timing”; it waits on the right time to act, for the right principles and in the right way.” Fulton J. Sheen
We all look for results. We all want positive changes. Yet, most of the people are happy as they are. This is like the saying: everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die!!
How do we achieve our dreams of married priesthood? Well there are no magical formulas. There are no instant results. We have to study how to bring about the best result. But we all need to work hard for it!
Well the Pope, true to his word, made an invitation to Brazil. It’s the country with one of the lowest percentage of priests in comparison with the faithful there. He is very shrewd. Refusing in such a big country (some call it a continent with its big dimensions), would be equal to a suicide. But the Pope started from the country which cannot refuse such a call if it wants to survive and still have Catholics in its own land. The hemorrhage is incredible in such big country. People are leaving the church in large numbers. This is the effect of not having at least a mass once a week.
Now it all depends on our response to such change. Are we going to apply pressure to the Vatican, to the local church? Are we ready to start discussing with the rest of the church? Our big guns are several but we wish to focus on two of them: one is the lack of priests where many parishes are struggling just to offer a mass per week! The other one is the common point with most non-church goers: sexuality. Most people have left because in the Catholic Church we can’t update our sexuality chapter anymore. It has to be re-written from scratch. The married priests are in a comfortable position to tell what’s most important and what could be discarded having children of their own.
We have noticed as well that some Catholic agencies didn’t publish the news that the Pope has invited Brazilian bishops to discuss priesthood for some married people (referring to male ones). This already speaks volumes. Not all the people will agree. But this should not discourage us. Living in a democratic country we should not get discouraged because of different opinions. Yet the good of the church tells us to do something before it’s too late. This should be the base on which to discuss the issue. It’s life or death situation.
Watching a TV program discussing ghosts, dead people, afterlife etc….shows how little do the people know of what the church truly teaches!! There is a lot of confusion, everybody coming out with a new version of what happens after death…….we need more priests, we need more catechists to tell them what the church teaches!
Daniel…i have enjoyed reading your new post. Yes,,patience is a virtue!!! You haven’t heard yet,,that our dear pope francis is agreeing to having us..the people of the church vote. It’s called catholic church reforming…i read it has started this july and august…it will start on the feast of christ the king..god willing sunday november 26, 2017 until november 2018,,it is called..”the year of the laity”…and that is us..the people!! Blessings to our dear pope francis.
Here in the USA there are thousands of priests who left to get married. Many of them would return to the priesthood as married men if the bishops permitted it. I don’t understand why they are not permitted to return since the Church began accepting married Lutheran and Anglican ministers/priests who converted to the Church, and bringing along their wives and families. This is so incredibly unfair to RC priests who left to marry the women they love. Double standard. And there are also a LOT of married deacons who would make excellent priests if allowed. Why not ordain them as priests as well? It would really help solve the shortage of priests here in the USA and would alleviate the need to keep importing priests from Africa, India, Mexico and Central and South America.
My church has a married deacon who does sermons when there are two priests on the altar behind him. Don ‘t understand what’s going on there. If we already have married priests from other churches, why can’t our own get married, too? No. Being single does NOT make them more available to their parishioners. I know several priests who didn’t have time, or simply didn’t want to be bothered. My priest always said that he would come to my house to check on me. I don’t need, or want him to, but I smiled politely when he said it. He hasn’t come over once. I don’t need him here, but my point is, being celibate doesn’t make them any more available.
The thing is that it is still referring to ordaining married men, and not to allowing priests to marry.
It will take a lot of change and time to allow ordaining married men around the world. Imagine how long it will take to allow current priests to marry. I just fear that the women on this blog do not have that much time to wait. And really shouldn’t wait. We have our one life and it is to love, serve, and honor God–not to wait and wait until the priest we love can stay a priest and also get married.
I don’t know if you saw this article about the Year of the Laity. There is a petition to sign if you want to look at it. This could be the open door we need to have a positive change concerning the law of celibacy. Here is the link if you want to have a look. https://www.catholicchurchreform.org/216/index.php/get-involved/laity-family-and-life/231-join-us-in-signing-a-letter-declaring-the-year-of-the-laity
Yes, readers please sign. The more people who sign it, the better!
Fr. Daniel, Please excuse my ignorance about this, but I am a bit concerned about giving my personal information on the petition. You hear about so many scams now. Do you think it’s safe?
You can check, verify and write directly to who is setting up the petition. I don’t think any petition will ask you to share any personal information. By the way, once you’re online you’re already giving out a lot of information (IP number for example). I don’t know if giving your email will reveal more that then what they know already about you! Most of the isp (internet providers) already sell your personal information to third parties!
On the other hand, how can we change things if we are afraid of doing some simple things like that of signing a petition?! The Apostles too were afraid after Christ’s resurrection by they received the Holy Spirit and forgot all about being afraid or of being politically correct!! As adults, we all received the same Holy Spirit who inspired the Apostles…….
What I meant was: I know you go to lengths to protect our private info, so I am a bit reluctant to give out my name and email address to anyone else.
Okay. Thanks for clearing that up. I’ll sign it right now.
How about taking a screen shot of it, and then sign it and send to our *local* Bishop asking him to also get it into the bulletins throughout the Diocese and the Diocesan newspaper? We will then be *evangelizing* the cause!
~Marshmallow
I wonder how many married men would want to become priests and make less money and be more busy.
And how would married men be able to study at seminaries for years if they have families and a job?
The same they do with all other corporations and companies. If they want to invest in their own workers, they do finance them to study and then most probably they would be obliged to work for a specific number of years (work contract).
I wonder if the parishioners would be willing to give a lot more money to the church to support the cost of the married men’s seminary years.
Other denominations and our Jewish friends all seem to manage quite nicely.
I have a question, I have been knows to be naive. So please be nice when answering there’s has been something in my mind for a while. So my priest said and of course I agreed no more physical touch till 2020 when his term ends in this church he was assigned. I didn’t ask any more questions. Because I don’t want him to ever feel pressure. Does that means he might be considering leaving priest hood ?
I wouldn’t take anything for granted. I would ask him point blank: ‘Would you leave priesthood in 2020? How can I believe you?’
You might want to think instead–do I really want to put up with this kind of relationship for 3 more years?
You owe yourself the favor to ask him what about after 2020. And, depending on his answer (intention), decide whether it’s worth waiting for him.
The comments I’ve read from various publications with respect to this latest revelation are overwhelming in favor of ending priest celibacy, for a few different reasons, not the least being how it was so obviously introduced for financial reasons.
Regular folks just wouldn’t have a problem with this, so I have to deduce the hold up is strictly within the Vatican walls.
Why!?!….hmmmm…
It’s simply a Power Game!
But what kind of power do they get when the priests are celibate vs. married? I know that the main reason is financial. They don’t want to have to pay the priests more to support a family.
The priests feel better than though because they are not married (!!). The higher up hierarchy feel the power game because they’ve got the sexual part under control ie the person is under control.
Daniel! I thought this day would never come! I started to lose hope. But it looks as if Pope Francis is -very slowly- fulfilling his promise to the laity. More priests for Mother Church. More priests to save willing souls. If former Anglicans can be included, then why not viri probati?!
I am happy for those in South America who will now be saved. God has blessed them.
Just remember the prophets in the old testament….most of them died before seeing the Messiah – yet they believed in what they preached! Let’s pray for more faith! Faith moves mountains!
No news is good news!?!
I don’t know….maybe they’re busy celebrating Thanksgiving or buying goods on Black Friday! In any case, next Monday we’ll have a new case of priest-woman love relationship……don’t ask for details. Please be good girls and boys and wait patiently…..
All good ….thanks
Sharing some food for thought..LINK.
Yup…..
The clock is ticking and yet more stalling tactics.
Fear of embracing change.
Stagnant.
Let’s keep up our faith. They can procrastinate but they can’t stop the change from happening in the church. I truly believe that the change is necessary and healthy!
I’m up to help all I can, although I wont benefit from the change it is important to help people who May still get a chance now and in the future.
I just have the feeling that priests in general, (not thinking about a particualr priest), are not strongly interested in the promise of celibacy to be lifted, or chastity vows not to be required anymore. That men that had vocation for priesthood but were against mandatory celibacy, did not become priests. And there is the group that leave priesthood for several reasons, including falling in love, certainly. But I have the feeling that the majority of active priests today are not very interested in achieving the change to optional celibacy. I hope I am wrong! Father Daniel, what do you think about the degree of interest of active priests in optional celibacy, overall?
They have the best of both worlds so why change? Besides an astonishing percentage of them are gay…so why suggest optional celibacy?
I have wondered, of the married Anglican (and other denominations) ministers converting to become married Catholic priests, how many stay? I know of a couple of them who stayed for years before they left the priesthood all together. I’ve often wondered if it was a particular case or is it something more widespread? Meaning do these married concerts say for the duration, or do they eventually leave? Not sure I made sense, but hope I did.
I know that most of them stay.
*converts
In a strange twist, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a group of Chaldean priests from Iraq.
They also have married priests.
So many differences under one “umbrella ”
Frustrating.