Should Roman Catholic priests be able to marry?

Answer 1

Yes - many early priests in the Catholic Church were married, although there were occasional, local prohibitions against their marriage. It was not until the First Lateran Council of 1123 that priests, deacons, subdeacons, and monks were absolutely forbidden to have concubines, contract marriage or even remain married. However, Pope Alexander VI (1492- 1503) is known to have fathered nine illegitimate children and openly kept a mistress in the Vatican.

An exception is now made for Protestant ministers who convert to Catholicism. If they were already married, they are allowed to remain married.

In the Eastern Rite Church, they have married priests (Married and priest at the same time). In the Roman Rite, they are not allowed to be, though men whose wives have died may be ordained afterwards. There were probably a few married priests in the early Church as well.

Answer 2

Clerical celibacy is the rule for priests and bishops in the Latin Catholic Church and for bishops in Eastern Christianity. It has also been the historical norm for Anglo-Catholic priests.

There are many differing opinions on should celibacy be maintained, and not even all priests are aligned.

Originally the Catholic Church did not demand celibacy from its priesthood. It is undisputed that the earliest Christian leaders were very largely married men. It was not until the fourth century that we saw instances in the West of canonical enactment of penalties for members of the clergy who did not observe continence/celebacy. Throughout the centuries there have been numerous councils and writings that have attempted to codify the sexual behavior of priests and religious.

However, as can be seen by the many "Sex Scandals" in the church, Priests, do not always abide by these rules.

Many would argue that allow priests the marry and have conjugal relations would reduce these episodes, others point out that there are many married sexual predators in the world.

Ultimately, this will need to be decided by individual religious and by the Church in general. They have consistantly shown that the opinion of the laity on this issue has no bearing.

Answer 3

The priest should not be married because dir the sake of the kingdom of heaven.He has also a full attention and not be divided.According to, the early Church saw a debate between the proponents of chastity and celibacy. Paul questioned chastity in favour of celibacy in the first century, as I Corinthians: 7 indicates, for example. This passage was (and has continued to be) variously interpreted. Those in favour of celibacy highlighted Paul's comment that he wished all were like him — that is, celibate — and his urging of those unmarried or widowed to remain so, while those favouring chaste marriage have emphasized Paul's words that it is better to marry than to burn if one cannot practise self-control. A different perspective is seen in 1 Timothy: 3, where a bishop (not, in this period, in charge of anything beyond a local church) is described as a person who must be above reproach, married only once, temperate and sensible, and keeping his children submissive: that is, he must embody the qualities of a chaste, married householder. In the letter to Titus, an elder is described, similarly, as one who must have been married only once, who must be blameless and not rebellious, and whose children are believers.

Answer 4

Speaking as a non-Catholic, and as a Christian looking in on the Catholic Church as an outsider, my answer would be yes, yes, yes.

There are several reasons for this opinion - here are just some:

1. The demand that a Catholic priest should be celibate is a man-made rule and has nothing to do with the role of the priest. Priests were originally allowed to be married in the Catholic Church - and even many popes were married (including Peter), so the rule of celibacy has no basis in Church history - and even less in Biblcal tradition and authority. It was not made compulsory until the 11th Century - presumably before then priests were not fulfilling their roles properly? Hardly.

2. Priests within other denominations (eg Anglicanism) are free to marry and have a normal family life - and this does not prevent them from carrying out their priestly duties honorably and professionally and with the Holy Spirit working through their priesthood. Let's not forget that, unlike Catholics, Anglican priests have the 'cure of souls' for the whole of their parishes. This means that anyone, and not just Church members, have the legal right to access an Anglican priest - even if they are not a Christian - so any talk of the Roman Catholic priesthood being too demanding a role is just a poor excuse. Anglican priests do it. Why not Roman Catholics?

3. Many Catholic priests are already married! in the UK there have been some Anglican priests who have been wooed by the Catholic Church to defect to Rome because of the Anglican acceptance of women clergy - to which they are opposed (and therein lies another prejudiced view of the Catholic Church!). Many of these priests are married with families, which is the norm in the Anglican Communion, and, as a result of Pope Benedict's ruling recently, they have been allowed to practise as Catholic parish priests after a certain time of instruction in Catholicism. This has caused much dissention within Catholicism in the UK, and rightly so. Many Catholic priests who have been Catholics all their lives, resent this decision because, to fulfil their calling to be a priest, they have been obliged to give up a normal family life, a loving wife, and the ability to have children - one of the most natural and miraculous of God's gifts to humanity. In a similar vein, there are many deacons in the Catholic Church (who have always been allowed to marry within Catholicism) who have been prevented from becoming priests because of their marriages. And yet both of these groups see the influx of married priests from a differentdenomination, welcomed with open arms, and rightly resent the double standards of the Catholic Church, and especially the pope's ruling.

4. There have been studies that say that resisting the natural sexual impulse of a man in this way is unrealistic and harmful for a healthy life - and notally unnecessary. Sexual scandals among priests, including secret liaisons, abandoned children born to a secret lover, and, especially homosexuality and pedophilia have been rife recently in the media. Apologists for celibacy in the priesthood say that these crimes are a breach of the Church's discipline, not a result of it, especially since only a small percentage of priests have been involved. However, cases of sexual impropriety are far fewer in those denominations where the priesthood is allowed to marry. And one case of child abuse by a frustrated priest starved of sexual contact is one case too many

5. Some that mandatory celibacy distances priests from this experience of life, compromising their moral authority in the pastoral sphere. As someone who, for 2 years of his life suffered from severe depression, I can now minister to those who are also depressive, whereas before I simply had no idea how they felt. Similarly, the major questions and traumas that occur within marriage and a normal sex life cannot be understood by a priesthood that has absolutely no experience of such things.

6. Even within the Catholic Church there is a very large proportion who are calling for the priesthood to be allowed to marry. However, with the ultraconservative nature of the present pope and his administration, and their willingness to create partisan and bad feeling within their own clergy, any change in the rulings of Rome are unlikely until this administration goes, and a new, progressive - and possibly more Bible-based Christian - pope is elected.

Roman Catholic answer: Catholic priests remain celibate for several reasons. The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ and is often described as the "Bride of Christ". Jesus, Himself, was celibate, and priests are called (that is the meaning of the word, "Vocation") to be another Christ. In a very real well, they are lending their bodies to Christ to continue His priesthood in sanctifying His people. Thus, as they model Christ in their lives, they are "married to the Church". They represent the fatherhood of God. On a practical level, even though Catholic priests are called, first and foremost to model Christ and stand in His place, especially at the altar; secondarily, they minister to people, the sick and dying, the repentant, those getting married, and all of those trying to lead a fervent Christian life. The people are their priority, and their job is very time consuming. They are husbands and fathers to the entire Christian people, this must be their priority and as St. Paul says, there are same who are eunuchs for the kingdom and it is better not to marry, but to devote oneself to the Kingdom

Answer 5

That is a decision to be made by Catholics and their ruling body.

Roman Catholic AnswerThe Catholic Church has always allowed married priests. It has never permitted priests to marry, but it has always ordained married priests to the priesthood. Currently, the Latin rite is the only rite which does not ordinarily ordain married men to the priesthood, but even within the Latin Rite there are exceptions: for instance, married protestant clergy who convert and are accepted by the Church for the priesthood may be ordained while their wife is still alive.

Answer 6

Priests that are married have always been "allowed" to have children, they are a natural result of marriage and are encouraged. The only priests that are not permitted to have children are Latin Rite priests who are not married when they are ordained and have taken a vow of celibacy. Nevertheless, if a celibate priest should break his promise of chastity and father a child, the pope has ruled that, in such a case, natural law trumps his promise, and he should apply for laicization and take care of his child.

Answer 7

No. In 655 the Ninth Council of Toledo, in an attempt to persuade priests to remain celibate, ruled that all children of clerics were to be automatically enslaved. This ruling was later incorporated into the canon law of the church and may still be at least nominally in force today. It would be better that priests do not have children than that innocent children be cast into slavery.