Superior Comments
The overload of added responsibilities and the limitations of age and health have and are continuing to cause and increasing number of us to retire at age 70. Optional celibacy would not, by itself, solve the priest shortage, but it would help. Recently I asked a young man, who has been very much involved in Church work and wants to make Church work his life after he has completed his service as a marine, if he had though of the priesthood. “Yes, but I also want to get married and raise a family.” nuf said?
You people make me sick!
Sorry, I just wanted to get my “two cents” in on this survey. With all due respect to those who are trying to solve the problem of the priest shortage, my personal opinion is:
1. First of all, I am a happily ordained priest of 45 years and am still healthy enough to do “work” every weekend, and helping out when needed elsewhere.
2. Celibacy has been a strength for me – not only in my personal relationship with God – but also in my relationship with the people of God.
3. I am certainly aware of the psychological and physical problems with celibacy, but I do believe in the power of grace, and that in this age of sexual addiction, it is poor timing to discuss whether priests should get into the mix of things.
4. Sometimes being celibate has its problems, but so does marriage—although nowadays the lack of commitment in marriage allows people to overcome them, and seek easier ways.
5. I do believe we should not lay the burden of the shortage on Bishops, Priests, etc., but should direct the problem to the attitude of the people of God—who do not wish their sons to be ordained—for whatever the reason, i.e., need for constants sexual release, need for more grandchildren (as one parent told me politely), need for more fun in life, etc.
Thanks for listening to me “sound off”, but I wanted to let you know that I am equally concerned as all those who signed the letter, and am praying that we find God’s will in all this. God Bless!
1. My “yes” answer is for OPEN DISCUSSION and does not necessarily express preference for optional celibacy.
2. Before any discussion of celibacy, I think we need a deeper look at the nature of the Church today. Then I think we can discuss the nature of the priesthood, and whether mandatory or optional celibacy is the best way to go at this time.
3. I think that some people (especially among the laity) are a little naïve about having a married clergy. There are a number of “negative” items that go along with a married clergy, as the Protestant clergy have discovered.
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A divorced clergy, and often a remarried clergy
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The economics of sustaining one or more married clergy in a parish
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The need to work with the wife of a married clergyman. In a workshop with mixed denominational clergy I learned that often the first marriage ends in divorce. The woman married the man when he was a seminarian. When he was ordained the parish became more important than the wife. For the second marriage the woman married him as an ordained, active minister and that marriage often succeeded. Similar to our permanent deacon program, we learned that you can’t ignore the wife (and the children).
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The problem of “preacher’s kids”, it is a real problem.
4. Do we look at the Priesthood as just a career, or as a real vocation? If we look at it as a vocation, in the case of a married clergyman, which vocation is primary?
5. Will there be “competition” between the married priests and the celibate priests? Will we get into the mentality of which one is better than the other?
I realize that all of this is good material for “open discussion” and that is why I voted
“
yes”—that we should have it. I think that in the Church we should never be afraid of any open discussion.
6. I think that we need more study (published) on the theology of celibacy.
I realize that the press is going to be interested in this survey. I am sure they will publish the negative side of the group asking for open discussion. I would hope that someone could work with the press to try to make their handling of it more positive.
When you publish the results of this survey you might state that “x” number of priests OUT OF A TOTAL OF “X” number in the diocese voted for open discussion. Just giving a number like 169 in Milwaukee does not give me a good idea of the percentage of preists who signed the letter from that diocese.
Let us pray for a good discussion of this subject and openness to the response of the Spirit to all of us.
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