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> All of the ancient churches, including the Catholic Church, do allow men who are already married to become priests. Certainly not in general. You either have
by pqtyw 1y ago
> All of the ancient churches, including the Catholic Church, do allow men who are already married to become priests.
Certainly not in general. You either have to be Eastern or Greek Catholic, Anglican/Episcopal convert etc. Overwhelming majority don't have that option.
- Loughla 1y agoWait what am I missing? Catholic priests who were married before becoming priests is a thing. Our local priest is married with kids and grandkids.
- betterThanTexas 1y agoI believe you're still expected to be celibate once taking your vows.
- dragonwriter 1y agoNo, married priests are not expected to be celibate (a term that in Catholic contexts specifically means “unmarried”) after taking their vows, they remain married. Nor are they expected to refrain from sex within marriage, which may be what you mean.
- pqtyw 1y agoWhat is the standard path for a married man to become a Roman Rite Catholic priest (besides being a married Anglican priest who decided to convert)?
- AStonesThrow 1y agoBeing a married Anglican priest is basically the only conventional way to do that. The discipline of celibacy is otherwise strictly observed. Of course, if a married Eastern Catholic priest decided to join the Latin Church with the rest of his family, this could happen too. But generally, a married man will want to discern the diaconate, as the priesthood will simply be out of the question, except in these exceptional circumstances.
- dragonwriter 1y ago> Wait what am I missing? Catholic priests who were married before becoming priests is a thing. Since, IIRC, the 1200s (may be off by a couple centuries), there has been a practice (not a doctrine) prohibiting ordination of married men in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. Because this is a prohibition but not a doctrinal invalidity, it does not invalidate otherwise-valid ordinations (i.e., by Bishops holding valid apostolic succession), and the prohibition was never applied to the Eastern Churches that were at the time (Inthink the Maronite Church was) or later came into union with Rome. There is also now a special exception allowing (with individual permission, not automatically) married Anglican priests who convert to Catholicism and are otherwise eligible for ordination as Catholic priests to be ordained in the Latin Rite despite being married. So it is possible to encounter married priests in the Latin Rite (Western) Catholic Church, but the door is not generally open to married men becoming priests.
- pqtyw 1y agoAre you perhaps Eastern or Greek Catholic? Because that's certainly not the case for "normal"(Roman Rite) Catholics
- ImJamal 1y agoWhich is why I said > The rules are more strict for Catholics than the others. You can be a married Catholic man and become a Catholic priest.