Why is married clergy such a sticking point in Catholic dogma? The marriage itself is not the problem. It is the vow of celibacy. In the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church the primary reason for marriage is to have children. Therefore a married priest is unable to uphold his vow of celibacy. The interesting part is this is not considered doctrine (an undeniable tenant of faith), but discipline. Because of this there are exceptions to the celibacy rule, though they are rare.
Milingo thinks dropping celibacy entirely is exactly what the Catholic Church needs to bolster the dwindling community of Catholic priests, and the numbers agree with him. Estimates vary, but there are reports that at least 150,000 men who left the clergy to marry want to become practicing priests again.
Luckily, I have the solution to this problem. All those priests need to do is be become Anglican, then convert back to Catholicism.
Sound roundabout? It might be, but what isn’t when it comes to the Roman Catholic Church?
Recently Pope Benedict XVI declared that Anglicans wishing to belong to a true, orthodox faith would be allowed to have full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. This includes all ordained, heterosexual male (are there really gay female priests?!) Anglican priests. The one potential snag: Anglican priests are allowed to marry.
No problem, says the Pope. Bring your wife with you. At last, married clergy!
But you can’t do it if you’ve been a Roman Catholic your whole life, like former Bishop Milingo.
Of course. That makes perfect sense…
2 Comments
Great and very interesting article.
One thing, though. Are you sure that the subject of married clergy is accurately characterized as being Catholic Dogma, per se?
Thank you for the positive feedback.
As for the dogma issue, I was trying to show that it is, in fact, not dogma. It is discipline and not doctrine, which would essentially put it out of range of indisputable dogma. It is my experience that most Catholics are unaware of the inherent flexibility in the discipline of celibacy in Catholicism, believing it to be an incontrovertible rule.
I understand that the wording might be confusing though, and I appreciate your bringing the point up so it could be better explained.