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Please correct me if I am wrong, but from what I understand the Roman Church is the only Church that demands clerical celibacy. That Bieng Said I have heard that Eastern Catholic Priests ordained in the United States are not allowed to be married before they are ordained. My Priest told me that this Rule was no longer followed, or that there was a loophole. Is this True?

God Bless,

Sam

Hi Sam!

There are many threads and posts pertainig to your question. If you do a search in it here, you will find many. All the posts have to do with the Eastern Catholic Churches in America.

Hope this helps.
May God Bless you,
Chels

thanks!

sam

Sam - even the Latin Church has allowed Lutherans and Episcopalians to remain married and become priests. I have a good friend who was a Lutheran pastor and is now a diocesan Roman priest who has eight kids.

I don't know where your friend got his information - several Eastern Catholic churches have so far openly ordained married men in the USA. Rome certainly doesn't recognize such a "ban".
DD

Well the US bishops sometime ago complained to the Pope and the pope said that no more ordained clergy in Eastern churches. Yes i have heard about the Episcopalian priests. they have their own rite of Mass now! but i guess Rome no longer recognizes there ban on ordination of married men which is a good thing.

Dear Sam,

The Syriac Catholic Church also demands celibacy from its priests . . .

As you can see, the fact that Rome readily accepts married Protestant clergy into its priestly ranks (after ordination, of course) shows that marriage is certainly not an impediment to ordination - one may always invoke "invincible ignorance!"

I've known of cases of Latin seminaries getting involved in vagante groups, getting "ordained" by them and then petition Rome to be reconciled and to be ordained as married priests in the Latin Church - and this does happen.

As someone whose grandfather was a married Greek-Catholic priest and who has many relatives and friends who are married EC priests today, I can readily attest that "invincible ignorance" is bliss!

Salve Magister!

Alex

Sam, if you have more specific information please feel free to mention it. The recent publication "Eastern Catholics in the USA" by the U.S. Catholic Bishop's conference mentions married clergy. Using a very specific example Fr. Chrysostom Frank, a married Russian Catholic priest, and his wife both teach at the Archdiocesan seminary in Denver.

Since Orientale Lumen as well as the ordination of former married Episcopalians and Lutherans I don't think there are any more large-scale problems from the Latin perspective.
DD

Dear Extraecclesiam,

I think he meant "no more ordained CELIBATE clergy" in the Eastern Churches!

Hurray!!

If an Eastern Catholic candidate for the priesthood wants to remain celibate, let him join a monastery or else go to the Latin Church!

And isn't it so funny about the U.S. Catholic bishops? Priests with problems (you know what they are) are transferred to other parishes, but if when it comes to the idea of married Latin clergy - then the bishops are very quick with "You know, we have rules about this . . ."

What is it with them? Do you know?

Alex

There was an old stupid decree in he 1920's that forbade married eastern Rite priests.It did real damage to the Ruthenian Catholics in America.In recent years since Vatican II it has more or less been abrogated. Th Melkites and more recently the Ukrainians have ordained married men in America.

Did'nt Americans and some others ban drinking about the same time as well and that caused more problems instead of solving them. We all learn as we go along and the Church is no different.

ICXC
NIKA

I seem to recall that the Armenian church demands celibacy of it's clergy. And I have a feeling that the Maronites in Australia have no married clergy. COuld be wrong..just some vague memory from somewhere.

NW

I dont think those 2 have imposed celibacy but a few others have done so like the Malabar and the Malankara. It just may be that we only get the unmarried ones here in Australia.

ICXC
NIKA

I could be wrong, but didn't the Ruthenian Church in America just recently ordain a married man in the Eparchy of Parma? "Marquis" or something?

God bless,

Chris

Found the thread regarding newly-ordianed Father Deacon Joseph Marquis: https://www.byzcath.org/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=002516

Dear Chris,

It was after a showdown involving, as I understand, the "Marquis of Queensbury's" rules . . .

Alex