Posted on 09/13/2005 3:55:13 PM PDT by NYer
Commentary by Papabile
Following on my previous article about the Permanent Diaconate and elected positions, I thought I might do some followup on other issues relating to the Permanent Diaconeate. I thought this was a good one to start with. A quick google search of +"permanent diaconate" and +divorce yields 562 hits. Now, not all of these are actually related to eachother. However, there are a few precious items.
Among them:
From the Diocese of Saint Augustine:
XVI. Family Difficulties. Deacons and their families are not immune from experiencing marital or other family discord. As significant discord in the family of a deacon can adversely affect the church community, either the deacon, or his wife, or both should bring marital difficulties to the attention of the Director when it becomes clear that these difficulties are above and beyond the normal stress and strain of married life. The Director shall assist the deacon and his wife in every way possible, and will ensure that the resources of the diocesan Family Life Center are made available to them.
If marital or other family difficulties are not close to resolution within a three month period, the Director will meet with the deacon and his wife to assess whether the ministry of the deacon has become impaired. If this is the case, or if the family situation deteriorates to the point of scandal, the Director, in consultation with the Vicar for Clergy, shall recommend appropriate action to the bishop. Appropriate action might include directed marriage counseling or involuntary administrative leave for a specified period of time.
If a divorce should occur, the deacon has a grave duty to report this to the Director immediately. The deacon must be willing to fully and truthfully discuss the circumstances of the divorce, in confidence, with the Director, the Vicar for Clergy or the bishop. Based upon all the facts and circumstances of each individual case, and considering the needs of the parish, ministry and diocese, appropriate action, if any is needed, will be taken. Frequently, such appropriate action will include reassignment, especially if the deacon is involved in parish ministry. The ironic thing about this is that one would presume the Ordinary would be aware of the circumstances of his Deacons and would actually provide a canonical process, rather than simply just stating "If a divorce should occur..."
CASES OF SEPARATION OF SPOUSES
Can. 1692 §1. Unless other provision is legitimately made in particular places, a decree of the diocesan bishop or a judicial sentence can decide the personal separation of baptized spouses according to the norm of the following canons.
§2. Where an ecclesiastical decision has no civil effects or if a civil sentence is not contrary to divine law, the bishop of the diocese of the residence of the spouses, after having weighed the special circumstances, can grant permission to approach the civil forum.
§3. If a case concerns only the merely civil effects of marriage, the judge, after having observed the prescript of §2, is to try to defer the case to the civil forum from the start.
Of course it always helps to have a point of reference and here it is ....
Deacons forbidden to hold office....
Hmmmm... It seems that New York has now decided to go forward and enforce the public office ban on Permanent Deacons. To me, the solution in this particular case seems contrived. There is no such thing as a "Leave of Absence" for Deacons. Then again, we've created this contrived position because of The Scandal.
"...When it became clear Egan would not grant a total exemption, Devlin proposed the leave of absence. 'When the judicial process began, my actions were authorized. The new (canon) law created a very difficult and conflicted situation, because of my ministry and my desire to be a judge,' he said. 'The leave of absence allows me to remain a deacon in good standing and resume my service when my judicial term ends.'
The leave will take effect Sept. 30. After that, Devlin will no longer be able to perform his ministries — such as baptisms, weddings and burial services — until January if he loses the election and January 2016 at the earliest if he wins. He will seek Egan's permission to perform those duties for family members as they arise, even if he is not an active deacon at the time, he said. ..."
Related article: Catholic judge to take leave from Chappaqua church
Of course it always helps to have a point of reference and here it is ....
Deacons forbidden to hold office....
Hmmmm... It seems that New York has now decided to go forward and enforce the public office ban on Permanent Deacons. To me, the solution in this particular case seems contrived. There is no such thing as a "Leave of Absence" for Deacons. Then again, we've created this contrived position because of The Scandal.
"...When it became clear Egan would not grant a total exemption, Devlin proposed the leave of absence. 'When the judicial process began, my actions were authorized. The new (canon) law created a very difficult and conflicted situation, because of my ministry and my desire to be a judge,' he said. 'The leave of absence allows me to remain a deacon in good standing and resume my service when my judicial term ends.'
The leave will take effect Sept. 30. After that, Devlin will no longer be able to perform his ministries — such as baptisms, weddings and burial services — until January if he loses the election and January 2016 at the earliest if he wins. He will seek Egan's permission to perform those duties for family members as they arise, even if he is not an active deacon at the time, he said. ..."
Related article: Catholic judge to take leave from Chappaqua church
There are a lot of good reasons why a deacon or priest should not hold political office. Pope John Paul II was right to prohibit it.
As for divorce. In the eastern churches, you could end up with a divorced priest as well. I think it's terribly important that married men who are seeking to become deacons or priests be very carefully vetted with regard to their family life.
Period.
Not in the Roman Catholic Church. The scandal of Anglican married priests "returning" to the Catholic Church is intolerable.
If a potential man of God wishes to be married...well, he can choose a denomination outside my church.
"Married men should not be priests. Period. Not in the Roman Catholic Church."
I agree with you.
The issue of concern to me is when we will have more married priests in the eastern Catholic churches. I think it's wrong to force changes to time honored and tested traditions on *any* of the Catholic churches.
The tradition in the western (Roman) Catholic church is celibate priests. Whether they want to change that is of course an internal matter to the western Catholic church. I think it would be a very bad idea, but that's up to them.
The tradition in the eastern churches (except in the U.S.) is married priests. It's a tradition that has served us just fine. But we have a different history and different perspective on many things.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.