Married, ex-Episcopalian ordained a Catholic priest in California

modbee ^ | 2-10-06

[LouAvul]

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) - A former Episcopalian priest who converted to Catholicism became the first married cleric ordained in the Diocese of San Bernardino under an unusual provision.

As his wife and two children looked on at Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral, Gregory Elder was ordained into the Roman Catholic clergy Friday through a rarely invoked exemption to Canon Law called the Pastoral Provision.

"I'm humbled, it's an honor, and only God could have made this happen," Elder told The Associated Press. "I didn't leave the Episcopal Church because I was mad at them. I wanted to join the church of history. I love my Episcopal friends."

Since 1983, about 80 former Episcopal priests in the United States have been ordained as Catholic priests through the provision, said the Rev. William Stetson, director of the Catholic Information Center in Washington, D.C.

About 43,400 Catholic priests reside in the United States, according to the center.

"The provision is very unusual, because priests are asked to be celibate, are asked not the marry. This is definitely the exception to the rule, because with the Pastoral Provision, you get to stay married," said the Rev. Paul Granillo, spokesman for the San Bernardino diocese.

Approved by the late Pope John Paul II, the provision requires eligible Episcopalian candidates to convert to Catholicism and find a bishop to sponsor them.

[SouthCarolinaKit]

What's the big deal? My former parish had a married priest who'd been a convert but already married, in the '80's.

[onyx]

I have no problem with this at all.

[floridaobserver]

Where's the so-called principles of the Catholic Church? This is an outrage. Either let priests be married or don't, but don't play games here with Gods' word.


This reminds me of the marriage nullification legalities.

[sinkspur]

I wanted to join the church of history.

The vast majority of Catholics wouldn't have a problem with those who are already members of the church of history, though married, being allowed candidacy for the priesthood, too.

[CheyennePress]

This has been around forever. Orthodox priests can convert, as well.

[A.A. Cunningham]

This is definitely the exception to the rule, because with the Pastoral Provision, you get to stay married," said the Rev. Paul Granillo, spokesman for the San Bernardino diocese.

However, should the wife precede her husband in death he then must adopt the discipline of celibacy for the remainder of his life.

[sinkspur]

Where's the so-called principles of the Catholic Church? This is an outrage. Either let priests be married or don't, but don't play games here with Gods' word.

Well, outrage is a bit harsh. But it makes little sense that married Protestants can convert and be ordained to the Catholic priesthood, but married Catholics cannot.

[RobbyS]

This is letting married men be ordained, not letting priests who promiosed to be celibate to marry. In any case. the exceptiosn are being applied mainly to former Episcopal clergy. Their church is breaking up, in case you didn't know.

[A.A. Cunningham]

The imposter appears.

[onyx]

This isn;t new. But do rave on.

[NYer]

Where's the so-called principles of the Catholic Church? This is an outrage. Either let priests be married or don't, but don't play games here with Gods' word.

The principles of the Catholic Church are sound and intact! In fact, the Catholic Church allows for a married priesthood in the Eastern Catholic Churches and, in this instance, for converts.

The Latin Church adheres to the words of St. Paul.

"But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please [his] wife. There is difference [also] between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please [her] husband. And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction." - 1 Corinthians 7:32-35

The Latin Rite priest takes a vow of celibacy - freely chosen, to follow in the footsteps of our Lord, who was not married.

Catholic Ping - Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list

[bayourant]

Plus this will happen more often. Esp since Catholics and the Orthodox are in a behind the scenes battle to get these Priest and their congregations since the current Espicopal Church is on its way to full Schism with the rest of the Anglicans

[NYer]

The vast majority of Catholics wouldn't have a problem with those who are already members of the church of history, though married, being allowed candidacy for the priesthood, too.

The "vast majority of catholics" are clueless about the history of priestly celibacy.

For the benefit of non-catholics, here is the Catholic Church's teaching on the subject.

What the Catechism of the Catholic Church says on "Celibacy of the Clergy:"

1579. "All the ordained ministers of the Latin Church, with the exception of permanent deacons, are normally chosen from among men of faith who live a celibate life and who intend to remain celibate 'for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.' [Mt 19:12 .] Called to consecrate themselves with undivided heart to the Lord and to 'the affairs of the Lord,' [1 Cor 7:32 .] they give themselves entirely to God and to men. celibacy is a sign of this new life to the service of which the Church's minister is consecrated; accepted with a joyous heart celibacy radiantly proclaims the Reign of God. [Cf. PO 16.]"

1580. "In the Eastern Churches a different discipline has been in force for many centuries: while bishops are chosen solely from among celibates, married men can be ordained as deacons and priests. This practice has long been considered legitimate; these priests exercise a fruitful ministry within their communities. [Cf. PO 16.] Moreover, priestly celibacy is held in great honor in the Eastern Churches and many priests have freely chosen it for the sake of the Kingdom of God. In the East as in the West a man who has already received the sacrament of Holy Orders can no longer marry."

1599. "In the Latin Church the sacrament of Holy Orders for the presbyterate is normally conferred only on candidates who are ready to embrace celibacy freely and who publicly manifest their intention of staying celibate for the love of God's kingdom and the service of men."

---

"Virgins, by the laying aside of all carnal affection, are imitators of God. For, if a man be only in name called holy, he is not holy; but he must be holy in everything: in his body and in his spirit. And those who are virgins rejoice at all times in becoming like God and His Christ, and are imitators of them." - Pope St. Clement of Rome ("Epistle Concerning Virginity" 1st century A.D.)

---

"The holy look of virginity is precious indeed in the judgment of all who make purity the test of beauty; but it belongs to those alone whose struggles to gain this object of a noble love are favoured and helped by the grace of God." - St. Gregory of Nyssa ("On Virginity" 4th century A.D.)

---

COMMENTS

Though it is not "forbidden" for the clergy to marry in the Christian religion, it is strongly recommended that one does not marry, if one is to be a priest or minister. I have read how Protestant minister's families have interfered in their religious duties. A Catholic priest does not have these concerns and can give God's work first priority.

[taxesareforever]

I'll bet the Catholic church will never make a move for sainthood for anyone who was married in the priesthood.

[msnimje]

Either let priests be married or don't, but don't play games here with Gods' word.

God said priests could not be married??

[NYer]

it makes little sense that married Protestants can convert and be ordained to the Catholic priesthood, but married Catholics cannot.

Sure they can, in the Eastern Catholic Churches. Why do you insist on misleading these posters with your own prejudices?

[NYer]

Plus this will happen more often. Esp since Catholics and the Orthodox are in a behind the scenes battle to get these Priest and their congregations since the current Espicopal Church is on its way to full Schism with the rest of the Anglicans

I have seen no evidence of this. The Catholic Church does not proseletize other christians. If anything, the mood has been one of "just be the best (filll in the blank with the denomination name) you can be".

[AnAmericanMother]

You lose.

Saint Peter.

[bayourant]

I am seeing evidence of it. Esp on the major blogs like the pontifications and titusonline where its often discussed. If some local Catholic Diocesees are not doing this or at least trying to tell these parishes there welcome there insane. The ORthodox of the Anitiochean rite seem to be doing a full court press on some congregations.

[sinkspur]

Sure they can, in the Eastern Catholic Churches. Why do you insist on misleading these posters with your own prejudices?

And the Eastern Churches are tiny in the West in terms of numbers.

There are going to continue to be differences of opinion on this disciplinary matter of celibacy. Besides, most of the posters seem to agree that mandatory celibacy has outlived its usefulness.

And I wouldn't be so quick to say that Catholics don't know anything about celibacy. They know all about it, and don't care if their priests are married or celibate. They just want men who are good priests.

[bayourant]

well let me go on record I am pro celibate priest lol.

[NYer]

Touche!!! ROFL!!! Kudos ... to a convert!

[Boiler Plate]

Where's the so-called principles of the Catholic Church? This is an outrage. Either let priests be married or don't, but don't play games here with Gods' word.

1 Timothy 4

Instructions to Timothy

1The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

What principles are we talking about the catholic church or the Word of God?

[WhiteGuy]

"don't play games here with Gods' word"

Perhaps it's the church's spin on God's word that is the problem.

[AnAmericanMother]

It's not really fair . . . my daughter's taking NT Bible this year, and I was helping her study Acts earlier this week - and St. Peter's mother-in-law figures prominently.

[Jaded]

Paul was celibate.

[Jaded]

Ah, the voice of the faithful.

[NYer]

And the Eastern Churches are tiny in the West in terms of numbers.

You would be quite surprised at how fast they are growing. Size is of little consequence, anyway. The issue is much deeper and has been addressed by Eastern Patriarchs who are far more familiar with the workings of integrating married priests into their Church.

Sandro Magister recorded Nasrallah Peter Cardinal Sfeir's presentation to the Vatican Synod, last October.

* * * * *

Curiously, the most serious criticisms of ordaining married men came from exponents of the Eastern Rite Churches, in which married priesthood is the norm.

Cardinal Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir, patriarch of the Maronites of Lebanon, said:

“Half of our diocesan priests are married. However, we must admit that the marriage of priests, even if resolving one problem, also creates other serious problems. A married priest has the duty of taking care of his wife and children, to ensure their education, to secure for them a certain social standing. The priesthood was also a means of social promotion in Lebanon. Another problem arises for a married priest, that of not having misunderstandings with the parishioners. Despite this, it can be the case that the bishop cannot transfer him, due to the impossibility of his family to move with him.”

If this is how the discussion went at the synod, it is unlikely that it will give rise to a decision to modify the discipline of clerical celibacy now in force in the Western Church.

* * * * *

The Maronite Catholic Church has a long history of ordained priests. And still, the majority of them choose celibacy, as you did, when you were ordained a Deacon.

[Pio]

"Either let priests be married or don't, but don't play games here with Gods' word. "

God said priests could not be married??

He left it up to direct subordinate left in charge of loosing and binding : St Peter.

The key issue is: does he abide by the teaching of the Church? Many priests do not.

The priest having a wife is just a cross he will have to bear.

[NYer]

What principles are we talking about the catholic church or the Word of God?

The Word of God, of course.

"His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with [his] wife, it is not good to marry. But he said unto them, All [men] cannot receive this saying, save [they] to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from [their] mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive [it], let him receive [it]." - Matthew 19:10-12

Perhaps this passage is missing from your Bible?

[AlaninSA]

The vast majority of Catholics wouldn't have a problem with those who are already members of the church of history, though married, being allowed candidacy for the priesthood, too.

You do not speak for the majority of Catholics.

Shocking though it may be to you, there are many of us conservative Catholics. The ratios simply depend on where you live.

[Arthalion]

Slightly ironic, considering that St. Peter...the FOUNDER of the Catholic Church and Christs self declared "rock", was himself a married man who had children. Most of the apostles were married as well.

For a very long time, celibacy was seen as something that the godly should aspire to, but it wasn't a requirement for priesthood. The Second Council of Tours ordered the defrocking of married priests in the 6th century, but it was completely unenforced and was widely ignored...even by five Pope's. It wasn't until the 11th century that Pope Gregory declared that priests were actually required to take a vow of celibacy. His successor was the first to enforce it, selling the wives of priests into slavery and throwing their children into the street. Still, even four hundred years later, half of Catholic priests were married. Married priests weren't finally driven out until the Inquisition, when ANY sign of rebellion against the churches teachings were grounds for excommunication.

The true foundations of priestly celibacy lie in the old Catholic belief that sex makes us "unclean". Even when priests were allowed to marry, they were prohibited from taking confessions or handling the Eucharist for a day after sex because they were "corrupt" and unworthy of doing God's work. Eventually the Church decided that priests should always be doing God's work, and so shouldn't ever be having sex. That entire mindset has been put down by multiple Pope's over the past century who have declared previous teachings flawed, and that sex is a good and holy thing. Despite those declarations, one of its major results...priestly celibacy...is still with us. I suspect it has more to do with tradition today than anything else.

[LurkingSince'98]

hey sink,
you said: They know all about it, and don't care if their priests are married or celibate.

I beg to differ with you. Maybe some American liberal catholics don't care, but amercians are only 5% of the membership of the church. I have heard said from several sources if the Pope ever allowed married priest, other than those special exceptions, the non-amercian Catholics would tar and feather him and ride him out of Rome on a rail.

Catholics like having their pastors all to themselves.

Regards,
Lurking'

[Arthalion]

Sainthood is one area where many of the churches restrictions fall away. There have been many married saints from the church itself (St. Peter, St. Siricius, St. Felix III, S. Hormisdas, St. Silverius, St. Agatho). There have been numerous other married and female saints from the laity over the centuries who have been so ordained without any kind of challenge to either their sex or marital status.

[NYer]

It's not really fair . . . my daughter's taking NT Bible this year, and I was helping her study Acts earlier this week - and St. Peter's mother-in-law figures prominently.

As a cradle Roman Catholic, I never paid this topic any heed until I joined this forum and met Orthodox with married priests. Only last week did the light bulb turn on. Peter was married before he was called into service by our Lord. He was one of the original disciples and his first vow was to his wife. He kept it until his death.

It was an "ahaa" moment. The Eastern practice of allowing married men to become priests suddenly made sense, as did the Latin practice of following Paul's admonition, after receiving the Word from our Lord.

A vow is a vow. Once broken, there is no reconciling the differences. The Episcopal priest in this article, never took a vow of celibacy. He began with a marriage vow. Now that he has been ordained a Catholic priest, his vow of celibacy kicks in, if and when his wife dies. It all makes perfect sense. A priest is married to his bride, the Church. His children are the parishioners who look up to him for guidance and counsel. My pastor, God bless this holy man, is a celibate Maronite priest who gives his all to the parish and community at large. He has sacrificed a wife and children to care for us. And care, he does, with heart and soul, enflamed with love for our Lord.

[NYer]

well let me go on record I am pro celibate priest lol.

Good ... not that you can do anything to change the situation :-).

[AnAmericanMother]

Since it is a discipline and not an article of faith, it can be and has been waived under particular circumstances (such as certain Eastern rites).

The disintegration of the Episcopalians has been visible on the horizon for some time. I think that's probably why the Church has made this limited exception - since many Episcopalians are One Step From Rome anyhow, and the faithful ones are being left homeless by the sinful antics of the national church. Things have just accelerated with the "consecration" of Vicky G. and the ensuing fallout.

And you are right, the new priests DO take a vow of future celibacy - once ordained, they cannot marry again if widowed. And that's as it should be.

[docbnj]

As a Protestant, I have always thought required celibacy for priests to be a strange and unnatural practice.

Look at the Jewish practice: Rabbis are not celibate: indeed, they are encouraged to have large families, which are a point of pride for their congregations.

I am impressed by the large number of famous, talented men in Anglo-American history who were the sons of ministers. There is no such parallel, obviously, among Catholics. Insofar as the priestly calling attracts natural talent, that talent is rather systematically bred out of a population which practices priestly celibacy. (I bet I'll be in for it for mentioning that!)

The Catholic church is short of priests. A reasonable, practical, and humane solution would be to keep priestly celibacy for those who desire it, but to allow separate orders of married priests to exist in parallel. But I am just a lowly Protestant, so I doubt that the Pope would listen to me on this point.

[sinkspur]

I have heard said from several sources if the Pope ever allowed married priest, other than those special exceptions, the non-amercian Catholics would tar and feather him and ride him out of Rome on a rail.

Why? The Pope put the issue in front of the synod of bishops this year for discussion. The bishops decided they weren't even going to address the issue, except to reaffirm the current practice.

Hey, that's fine. But, priests are dying off in the West and not being replaced in the same numbers and that situation is not going to improve over the next decade. So, eventually, those in rural and some city parishes will have deacons or lay administrators of their parishes. And, except for a Sunday Mass or two, everything else will be done by non-priests.

The Africans have made clear that they need every priest they are ordaining (plus they don't want their guys to come to the West and get a taste of our decadent lifestyle because they will likely want to stay).

I don't know about you, but I predict that, sooner or later, American Catholics, who are the financial backbone of the Church at large, will tire of supporting parishes with no resident priest.

Or, they may decide that having circuit rider priests are just fine, with laymen running everything else.

Whatever happens, the face of the Church is going to change, and change dramatically in the next generation.

[NYer]

Besides, most of the posters seem to agree that mandatory celibacy has outlived its usefulness.

Now here you go contradicting my statement that most catholics are not familiar with the scriptural perspective on priestly celibacy. You are suggesting that the opinion of "the posters" outweighs that of our Lord. Who are these posters? How many of them are actually Catholic? You can easily rope in the Evangelicals who don't have priests serving in their mega churches.

Sinkie, you made a decision at a certain point in your life to abandon the vow of celibacy for that of marriage. You should rejoice rather than lament that decision, and I'm sure your wife would agree with me.

[Kolokotronis]

"My pastor, God bless this holy man, is a celibate Maronite priest who gives his all to the parish and community at large. He has sacrificed a wife and children to care for us. And care, he does, with heart and soul, enflamed with love for our Lord."

And in the old country, virtually all non hierarch and non monastic priests are married men with families, NYer. The fact that here in the States Maronite priests are not married is due to the orders of the greater Latin Church here in the US. I've said it before, celibates belong in monasteries, not in parishes.

[NYer]

Slightly ironic, considering that St. Peter...the FOUNDER of the Catholic Church and Christs self declared "rock", was himself a married man who had children. Most of the apostles were married as well.

You're right! Peter was married! He took a vow of marriage before being called into service by Jesus Christ. And ... he maintained that vow until his excrutiating death in the Forum Romanum. He never waivered. This is why the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches allow married men to enter the priesthood. Their first vow is to their wife and family; the second one is to the Church. Should the wife die, the priest never remarries (at least in the Eastern Catholic Churches).

As to the other disciples, Paul was celibate, as we know from 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 . Our Lord was also celibate and encouraged it as we know from Matthew 19:10-12

Am I missing something here? Which of the other disciples were married?

[sinkspur]

You are suggesting that the opinion of "the posters" outweighs that of our Lord.

Jesus NEVER demanded that his apostles be celibate. "Let him accept it who can." In the first centuries of the Church, priests and bishops weren't. And, as you yourself have illustrated, married men are ordained in the Eastern Church.

The ONLY justification the Church can use for continuing mandatory celibacy in the Latin Rite is that, well, priests have always been celibate.

That's why men are waiting and going into the permanent diaconate rather than the priesthood.

You and others insist on making this about me, though I've never referred to my own situation. I will never be a priest, or allowed to be a deacon. So it's not about me. And I don't have any ill feelings about that at all.

It's about the future of my Church. Catholic men don't want to go into the priesthood. Instead of finding out why and putting a plan in place to address the situation, all we get out of the bishops and Rome are vocation days and "well, let's pray."

I'm not working in RCIA twice a week so, ten years from now, I can attend a communion service conducted by a deacon who can barely speak English and knows less theology than I do.

[NYer]

As a Protestant, I have always thought required celibacy for priests to be a strange and unnatural practice.

Why? With the exception of Peter who was married before he was chosen, all of the disciples were celibate, including our Lord Jesus Christ. Are you saying that Jesus' celibacy was 'unnatural'?

Look at the Jewish practice: Rabbis are not celibate: indeed, they are encouraged to have large families, which are a point of pride for their congregations.

Rabbis are not priests, nor do they adhere to the teachings of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Jesus was a rabbi and He was not married.

The Catholic church is short of priests. A reasonable, practical, and humane solution would be to keep priestly celibacy for those who desire it

The Eastern Catholic Churches allow for a married priesthood. It is not the panacea you propose. See the comments made by Maronite Patriarch above in an earlier post.

[NYer]

I predict that, sooner or later, American Catholics, who are the financial backbone of the Church at large, will tire of supporting parishes with no resident priest.

So, according to you, inviting back those who broke their vows is the solution? Get over it already! First you chose to be a priest and entered the diaconate. Then you met a woman, fell in love, gave up your vows and married her. Celibrate that love!

Why do you harbor such resentment against an institution that simply asked if you were ready to make a vow and you said 'yes' but then changed your mind. The seminary is a time of discernment. Obviously, that discernment was towards marriage. Why can't you simply drop to your knees in gratitude to our Lord for the beautiful wife He gave you and accept that this is your calling in life?

[Arthalion]

Presumably all of them. Jewish tradition at the time was that children were engaged at 12-15 years, and were married shortly afterward. The celibacy of both Jesus and Paul is dwelled upon in the Bible specifically because it is what set them apart from other men. There's nothing to indicate that any of the rest were single.

But if you wish to dwell on the example of Paul, I cannot help but cite his own words in 1 Timothy. The book is obviously well read by the leadership of the church as 1 Timothy 2 is commonly cited as the reason why women cannot become priests. It is slightly ironic, therefore, that the 1 Timothy 3 contains this passage:

1 Timothy, Chapter 3 - 1 This saying is trustworthy: 2 whoever aspires to the office of bishop desires a noble task. 2 Therefore, a bishop must be irreproachable, married only once, temperate, self-controlled, decent, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not aggressive, but gentle, not contentious, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, keeping his children under control with perfect dignity; 5 for if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of the church of God?

One cannot become a Bishop without also being a priest. How are we to reconcile this?

[right-wingin_It]

Where's the so-called principles of the Catholic Church? This is an outrage. Either let priests be married or don't, but don't play games here with Gods' word.

While I am cautious about too many protestant ministers converting while simultaneously choosing to become Catholic priests, the policies of the Church are fully in line with what Paul preaches in the Bible. You can be married or celibate, but celibate is prefered. I don't see the conflict.

What I am somewhat concerned about though, is how one can go from preaching upon one theoretical foundation and instantly change to preach upon a new conflicting one??...It's like imagining how instantaneously fast can a liberal change to a conservative (or vice versa) with out leaving any room for moderate views. What percentage of these Priest-converts would uphold what percentage of Catholic teachings?? As a layperson, all I can do is trust that the Bishop closely follows each case, and at the end of the day the prayers are made and the right people are approved. It's possible this is program is doing fine...that is to say, I didn't read anyting to indicate the program was a severe problem. And of course people can drastically change. Paul was once Saul for one prime example.

[sinkspur]

So, according to you, inviting back those who broke their vows is the solution?

That's not a bad idea, actually. Married people occasionally break their marital vows yet, within the context of marriage, they take each other back, reconcile, and move on. It's a pity that the Church won't offer that same kind of reconciliation to priests who have left.

Actually, the Church does offer it, in certain circumstances. I'm aware of at least five priests who left in the 70s and 80s, married, had kids, divorced, and are now back in the priesthood. The difference between them and me is that they never sought laicization and decided to marry while still priests, outside the Church.

So, the Church will take them back, with open arms, but will not take back anyone who did the right thing and got laicized so they could sacramentalize their marriages.

We've witnessed, over the last 30 years, Roman Catholic bishops doing whatever it took to keep alcoholics, misogynists, and child molesters in the priesthood. Just as long as they had nothing to do with a woman, they could dry out or get treatment, and be reassigned. But, if a priest leaves the priesthood, gets married, and stays married, he is anathema for as long as that woman is around. If he dumps her, as long as he didn't confect a sacramental marriage, he's welcomed back into the priesthood. And forget about ordaining older married men with stable marriages. Of course, there's always the permanent diaconate, which happens to be adding nearly 800 ordained men to the service of the Church every year, twice the number of priests who are ordained.

So, you'll forgive me if I look at the current poor mouthing by the hierarchy about not having enough priests with a somewhat jaundiced eye.

[msnimje]

The priest having a wife is just a cross he will have to bear.

Does your wife know you feel this way?