www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West Another article on celibacy

For those who have access to a Theological library, or a library with theological periodicals, here is an article that might interest some member of this forum:

USA: Forbidden Territory for Married Eastern Catholic Priests by George Nedungatt, S.J.

in The Jurist, vol 63 (2003):1, page 139.

Since I don't have that access, could you please sum up some of the main points.
Thanks

It is about 30 pages, summing it up would be rather difficult. Nedungatt is a respected name AFAIK.

It presents a history of the issue with the current status in the USA.

Knoxville is not a small town if I recall properly. I bet you could get access to it at a local acadmeic insitution.

Some law libraries [clelaw.lib.oh.us] while not specialized also seem to carry this periodical. Scroll down almost to the bottom to see this. Another option is simply asking your local library to acquire it on Inter-Library Loan, that would most likely be a photocopy and there might be a charge.

I will look for the article. When I said sum it up, I had in mind 2 or 3 main sentences, not 30 pages.

I thought that there were some Eastern Catholic bishops that were already ordaining married men regardless of the prohibition and that Rome had quietly given its approval.

So how would this be anything to bother with?

BOB

Dear byzanTN,

I did not read the article. If I had, I still think distilling approximately 30 pages into 2 or 3 sentences would be difficult. Please see an offline message to you from me.

Dear BOB,

Well, perhaps that question is pertinent and should be directed to the author. He is a respected RC canonist and the journal is a respected journal dealing with canon law. For me those are clues this is of some import.

Given the frequency with which this matter appears on this board I don't think the matter is settled for some.

This is a non-issue for me. I presented the information here as I did not see it posted elsewhere on the forum.

Tony

I sent you a PM back. Thanks for the info. I can find the article, I just wondered if there was anything new in it worth reading. Since you haven't read it, you can't answer that. Thanks again. BTW, I have heard that some Eastern jurisdictions are sending married men to the "old country" to have them ordained, then bringing them back. I haven't found any official confirmation of that, and don't think it likely I ever will

If you're having problems accessing the article ask a university student to get it for you.
Peace

I just saw the article today in our library. It does not break much new ground but is a summary of the history of the issue in North America, specifically the United States. Disappointingly, for a canonist of his stature, he doesn't really deal with the new reality inaugurated since the 1990 CCEO, which, as I understand it, supersedes all previous legislation (which legislation the author says still pertains) and therefore obviates any restrictions on the ordination of married men to the priesthood. He sounds what I regard as an undue note of caution, undue because the Ukr. bishops in Canada have been ordaining married men for years (at least one of whom was ordained in the early 1970s) without any repercussions. Besides, even if there were, what is there possibly to be afraid of? A Roman temper tantrum? What are they going to do, apart from snarky letters perhaps? It's not like they will excommunicate us or cut off funding or anything else. There is no reason to be afraid!

Adam:

I thought that the Ea Semper decree forbidding the ordination of married men in the Eastern Catholic Churches only applied to the United States.

BOB