After 24 years as a priest on active ministry, and now having completed 29 years very happily married, I can see clearly the potential advantage to the Church of having married priests.
Together with their unmarried colleagues they could add significantly to the “pastoral punch” of the Catholic Church in our world that largely ignores its Creator.
The following are some of the arguments in favour of changing Church law to enable priests to marry:
- For the first 1000 years and more in the Church’s history priests were allowed to marry. In fact, Pope No. 1, St Peter himself, was married.
- The Eastern Rite “branch” of the Catholic Church has always allowed priests to marry, as it does today.
- Exceptions have been made in Australia and elsewhere for married men to be ordained and serve as Catholic priests. Why not make that the general rule for the whole Church, East and West?
- After receiving a dispensation to marry, priests in my position still retain all the powers of priesthood. But we are forbidden to use them. Strangely, the only barrier between having these powers and using them is another of the seven sacraments, marriage?
- The twofold source of grace from priesthood and marriage enriched by a wife’s faith-fostering example, wisdom and love could equip a married priest with pastoral qualities to match and complement those of his celibate brother priests.
The people make up by far the majority of God’s people, the Church. Our priests know the people and their pastoral needs more intimately than does a bishop, archbishop, cardinal or even a pope.
Last year representatives of our Australian priests presented a submission to the Synod in Rome advocating a married priesthood – a courageous stand.
The least we can do is to show them we stand with them.
Let us join our prayers to the Holy Spirit with theirs. The exciting possibility is that we would see once again our Church enjoying the enriched blessings of the priesthood of Jesus Christ, served by both married and celibate pastors.
“Come, Holy Spirit”!
NOEL COOK
Tumut, NSW
