Coming soon: married priest who will make history (ex-Baptist minister to become Catholic priest)

Deacons Bench ^ | August 26, 2008 | Deacon Greg Kandra

[NYer]

Now for something completely non-political -- and really, quite inspiring. America is about to get another married priest, but one unlike any other.

From the Louisville Courier-Journal:

David Harris never considered his conversion to Catholicism six years ago to be a rejection of the Baptist faith that nourished him from childhood in Eastern Kentucky.

But as a married man, Harris did think the switch meant he would leave one thing behind -- his status as an ordained minister.

He was wrong.

Early next month, he'll make history as the first married, former Baptist minister to become a Roman Catholic priest in the United States.

He'll also be only the second married man from any former denomination to become a priest in the Archdiocese of Louisville.

Harris, 53, is scheduled to be ordained Sept. 6 at the Cathedral of the Assumption.

He is the only priest being ordained in the archdiocese this year.

His ordination is allowed under a seldom-used exception to the church's requirement that priests be celibate.
Exception to the rule

The exception, which requires case-by-case permission from the Vatican, allows ordination of married converts who had been ordained Protestant ministers.

While about 100 former ministers from Episcopal and other American Protestant denominations have taken that path, Harris is the first former Baptist known to do so, according to researchers and others familiar with the process.

"All I could do is say, 'Church, would you consider this?' " said Harris, now a deacon at St Aloysius Church in Pewee Valley, where he will become associate pastor upon his ordination. "If the church had said no, I would have gone on and enjoyed my faith and done something else."

Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, who supported Harris' application to the Vatican, said he's looking forward to the ordination.

"I think the world of him," he said.

Elayne Roose, a spiritual director who has advised Harris, said "we'll all benefit" from his ordination.

She said he blends spirituality with practical experience.

"He understands what it's like to be married, to have children, to have that life, besides being a very spiritual person," she said.
The spiritual journey

Harris, who knew few Catholics in his native Middlesboro, traces his spiritual journey to his upbringing by "good Christian parents."

"I loved the mountains and nature, (which conveyed) a sense of closeness to God," said Harris, whose church office is decorated with pictures of sunflowers -- and a real one from his garden -- alongside icons and liturgical books.

He said he was baptized by immersion around age 10 at his church, beneath a painting of John the Baptist and Jesus at the Jordan River.

Harris later earned an engineering degree from the University of Kentucky, where he met his wife, Pam.

They now have two adult sons.

Harris worked as a design engineer in Lexington, but he said that as he volunteered in his local Baptist church, he felt a call to the ministry.

He earned a master's of divinity from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville in 1987 while pastor of a church in eastern Jefferson County.

Harris said when his second son was born, he "really had to think about spending more time with the family." He returned to engineering in 1992, going to work for the Louisville Regional Airport Authority.

That was when a friend gave him a thrift-store copy of a spiritual classic by the Catholic mystic St. John of the Cross, "Dark Night of the Soul."

Harris said he was captivated by its vision of a deep contemplative prayer life and began reading more of Catholic spirituality, including works by 20th-century Kentucky author-monk Thomas Merton.

He went on retreats at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Nelson County, where Merton had lived.

Harris then began attending the Church of the Epiphany in eastern Jefferson County and was confirmed as a Catholic in 2002.

"I love the Baptist faith," he said. "I was not moving away from it or toward something. It's just all part of my journey."

Visit the link for the rest, and more pictures. And let's keep this remarkable man in our prayers. H/T to Crossing 84th Street.

Photo: by Pam Spaulding, The Courier-Journal

[NYer]

Deacon David Harris carries the Bible (should read Book of the Gospels) down the aisle as a service begins. His ordination required Vatican permission.

[annalex]

Also see Married, ex-Baptist minister to become Catholic priest.

[NYer]

Wish you would have pinged me to this. Apologies for the duplicate.

[webrover]

He does not consider is conversion a rejection of his Baptist faith.

"I love the Baptist faith," he said. "I was not moving away from it or toward something. It's just all part of my journey"

It's seems to be all about him. I thought the priesthood was a calling from God. "It's all part of MY journey" sounds way too much like some new age self indulgent pap.

He's probably a nice guy. But he seems to have no particular commitment to the Catholic faith.

[353FMG]

“But he seems to have no particular commitment to the Catholic faith.”

I agree. Seems to me that the bishop also has some explaining to do. I’ve heard of Anglican priests being ordained Catholic priests after conversion and subsequent training but never heard of a Baptist minister becoming a priest. The fact that this minister still loves his Baptist faith tells me that he should have remained a Baptist minister. He is now serving two masters.

[annalex]

It is a first for a baptist minister to become a priest, correct. A dispensation from Rome was required for that. It is not, by far, the first married convert from Protestantism who is ordained priest in the Latin Rite, because in the US there is a pastoral provision allowing Anglican priests to be ordained Latin priests even if they are married.

There is no contradiction for Fr. David to love his former Baptist faith. It is rather typical for converts to Catholicism to see in their conversion a fuller expression of the faith they already had as Protestants.

[annalex]

I wasn’t the original poster.

[Between the Lines]

But he seems to have no particular commitment to the Catholic faith.

His wife and sons and other family members are all still Southern Baptists. I think what you perceive as a lack of commitment is actually his efforts at diplomacy trying not to alienate his family.

But this brings up a bigger question. Since his wife is still Baptist and he is Catholic, that would mean that she does not recognize him as the spiritual head of his own household any longer. And if he is such a poor shepherd in his own home, why would he ever be considered to shepherd a congregation?

[webrover]

Serving two masters sums it up perfectly.

[Between the Lines]

Wish you would have pinged me to this. Apologies for the duplicate.

The very first post in the other thread was a drive by and it distracted the posts. Maybe this one will fare better.

[annalex]

I have been Catholic for 16 years, and my wife remained Baptist prior to this Easter. She never questioned my role as priest of the household, and it never occurred to me that she should somehow be forced into Catholicism. Were I to force her conscience that would have been poor spiritual leadershipp on my part. I explained the faith to her and naturally, she converted in the fullness of time. We both love the Baptist communities she attended and I visited, and wish they all come and join us in the Holy Mother Church.

[webrover]

That could turn out badly.

[webrover]

I didn't get that feeling from his comments. And Baptists are quite different from Anglicans or Reformation Protestants. That's all fine. But there are conflicts in belief between Catholics and Baptists. And he can't accept one without rejecting the other. Any Baptist would be happy to tell about what's incorrect with Catholic belief.

[Jaded]

But not the other way.

[Jaded]

Since his wife is still Baptist and he is Catholic, that would mean that she does not recognize him as the spiritual head of his own household any longer.

How so? If she does not recognize him, isn't that a sin on her part, he is after all, still her husband.

[annalex]

No question that the Baptists are, regrettably, very different doctrinally, but it is possible to love the Baptist faith for its intensity, good works, and the devotion to the Holy Scripture. Both Ann and I share that as we always have. I don’t see how is that “serving two masters”.

[annalex]

Correct.

In fact that is common to all Catholic Rites, as well as the Orthodox priesthood: while a married man may be ordained as a priest even, exceptionally, in Latin Rite, a priest of any Christian Church or rite may not marry after he has been ordained.

[webrover]

Am I talking about you and Ann? Are you the subject of the article? Are you the priest? If you’re not, I honestly don’t quite get your point. I don’t know what this convert who does not reject his former faith, picks as usable from which faith. As a priest, he may not pick and choose.

[annalex]

I am not a priest, but I don’t see why Fr. David should reject that in the Baptist faith which is Catholic. He did not say that he embraces salvation by faith alone, sola scriptura or any other Baptist error. He said he loves the Baptist faith. Nothing is wrong with that.

[webrover]

He doesn't say much except that he does not see his conversion as a rejection of his Baptist faith. Neither you nor I know what he rejects or what he retains. Hopefully he has made it absolutely clear to the Bishop. Hopefully the Bishop bothered to inquire. Because he needs to know exactly what this man believes before letting him minister to parishioners as a vicar of Christ in the Catholic church. Other than praying everyone does the right thing, we can do nothing.

[NYer]

Since his wife is still Baptist and he is Catholic, that would mean that she does not recognize him as the spiritual head of his own household any longer. And if he is such a poor shepherd in his own home, why would he ever be considered to shepherd a congregation?

This is an excellent question. When God calls, we respond. The biggest challenge for most converts, as I understand it, is leaving behind loved ones. The bigger concern here must surely be how the diocese will handle a situation like divorce. I distinctly recall the conversion story of a Four Square minister who appeared on EWTN's The Journey Home. He was married with children. He eventually responded to the call but his wife left him and took the children. This is not uncommon.

The article states that this was approved by the Vatican. One can only conclude that they have done an exhaustive investigation on this man and his situation, otherwise they would have disapproved his ordination. Note too, that he will not be serving as pastor but as an associate pastor. Normally the married converts accepted into the priesthood are assigned to colleges or universities or, as in this case, as associates.

There is a lot more to this story as well - he is the only priest to be ordained this year! We should be judicious in our criticism.

[kosta50]

Harris said he was captivated by its vision of a deep contemplative prayer life and began reading more of Catholic spirituality, including works by 20th-century Kentucky author-monk Thomas Merton.

I thought the Catholic Church distanced herself from Thomas Merton, making him almost a "dirty word."

Personally he is my favorite modern Catholic spiritual writer (especially early works).

[kosta50]

He did not say that he embraces salvation by faith alone, sola scriptura or any other Baptist error. He said he loves the Baptist faith. Nothing is wrong with that

Maybe because sola scriptura and salavation by faith alone is the Baptist Faith?

There is very little Catholic in the Baptist faith, Alex. They reject they sacraments, they deny that Mary is Ever-Virgin, they believe that one is saved by faith alone, they believe in sola scriptura, etc. etc. The one and probably only Catholic aspect of their faith is that, like most mainline "Protestant" denomiantions (alhough Baptists are technically not Protestants), they are Trinitarian and their Christology is orthodox.

It's just that the Catholic Church is desperate for more priests. In other times, this would never fly.

[annalex]

I am sure the priest formation requires a clear understanding of what in Baptist faith is not Catholic, because even RCIA (Catholic initiation for lay folk) requires it.

It is a concern, in theory, I agree. However, the usual Protestant reaction, that such a convert will have to choose between the Pope and the Scripture is a misplaced concern. The Catholic doctrines, while disagreeing with some Baptist ones, are in full accord with the scripture — just not with the Protestant interpretation of it.

[PAR35]

I didn't know that the provision which has been used by Lutherans and Anglicans would stretch to cover Baptists. Perhaps this - He is the only priest being ordained in the archdiocese this year. - was a factor.

[kosta50]

In fact that is common to all Catholic Rites, as well as the Orthodox priesthood: while a married man may be ordained as a priest even, exceptionally, in Latin Rite, a priest of any Christian Church or rite may not marry after he has been ordained

Correction Alex: an Orthodox priest can only be married to an Orthodox woman (prior to his ordination). I have never known or heard of an Orthodox priest whose wife was not Eastern Orthodox!

[annalex]

It may be on the other thread about this that I wrote it. Ann, my wife, converted from the Baptist faith and came into the Church this Easter. She had the same line of questioning from every Protestant friend of ours: “Too bad you rejected the scripture”. To which her response is, of course, that it is the scripture that made her Catholic.

We both love the Baptist community, — not for their precise doctrine, to be sure, but for their sincerity, love for the scripture and abundance of good works (quite ironically). So I understand where this man is coming from very well.

Generally, hostility to the previously held belief system is very rare in Catholic converts. Invariably, they describe their conversion in terms of fullness of Christian faith rather than rejection of the previous belief system.

[annalex]

Sure. I did not mean to give the entire list fo requirememnts for the Latin Church either. Basically, to become a priest is not a right.

[kosta50]

Alex, what is left of the Baptist faith when a Baptist becomes Catholic/Orthodox? They don't accept "baby splashing" (infant baptism), they don't consider baptism salvific, they don't consider Mary ever-Virgin, or even the mother of God, they reject the sacraments as "empty rituals," they believe in salvation by faith alone, they believe in scriptures as the only authority, they reject the Catholic/Orthodox Bible, and so on.

They may be wonderful people, and their faith may be deep and very sincere, but there is nothing Catholic about their faith. Their faith was never what the Church believed everywhere and always.

For them to become Catholic, they must reject 99% of what they believe, including the Baptist interpretation of the scriptures. What is left to love?

In my six years in Japan, I have met many Japanese who were wonderful people (in fact I have never met a Japanese I doidn't like!), but they are also wonderful pantheistic pagans!

Most mainline Protestants and Baptists I met were also wonderful people. They even share two pillars of the orthodox faith of the catholic Church: their Trinitarian and Christological beliefs are the same as ours.

But that's where our similarities end. The rest is unrecognizable. So, when a Baptist converts to Catholicism, there is nothing but the belief in the Holy Trinity and Christ as two natures in one Person that he can keep, and these are not even exclusively "Baptist" beliefs!

[annalex]

Well, you got it, what is left is love of Christ, belief in the Incarnation, the Resurrection, the Triune God, the commandments of Christ, — that is not a small platform.

I never think of my Baptist friends as if they are walking repositories of doctrines. I am pretty sure if I met face to face most anyone of my opponents here at FR we’d be friends as well. Human relations are not doctrinal.

Besides, Jesus came for the lost, not for the catechized, and He sure loved them.

[A.A. Cunningham]

Any Baptist would be happy to tell about what's incorrect with Catholic belief.

Correction: Any Baptist would be happy to tell what they mistakenly think is incorrect with Catholic belief.

[A.A. Cunningham]

I didn't know that the provision which has been used by Lutherans and Anglicans would stretch to cover Baptists.

Only Anglican converts are ordained under the Pastoral Provision. Other married protestant converts who are ordained are done so with a dispensation from the discipline of celibacy. Regardless, they all must agree prior to ordination that if their spouse precedes them in death that they will then adopt the discipline of celibacy for the remainder of their life.

[PAR35]

Thanks.

[kosta50]

Well, you got it, what is left is love of Christ, belief in the Incarnation, the Resurrection, the Triune God, the commandments of Christ, — that is not a small platform

LDS love Christ too. The Arians (Unitarians) believe in His Resurrection as well. And all who call on Christ's name profess following His commandments. That is a broad platform that encompasses every Christian sect and cult.

How would you feel if an LDS who became Catholic said "I love my Mormon faith?"

Protestants and Baptosts are heretics. The Japanese are pagans. They both may be wonderful people, but their beliefs are not our beliefs.

I never think of my Baptist friends as if they are walking repositories of doctrines

They don't have to be. They believe what the Church condemns. As an ardent, practicing Catholic all you can do is condemn their beliefs as well (unless the Catholic Church removed its anathemas), without condemning them as individuals.

I am pretty sure if I met face to face most anyone of my opponents here at FR we’d be friends as well. Human relations are not doctrinal

No argument here, Alex. I share your feelings. I have a great deal of respect and affection for our Protestant and Baptist freepers with whom I had most extreme disagreements.

Besides, Jesus came for the lost, not for the catechized, and He sure loved them.

A true Christian would (at least try as hard as he can to) love others like himself. He will pray for his enemies, that they may be converted to Christ. He even loved the money changers but He didn't love what they were doing.

[annalex]

I am simply making the assumption that the love for the Baptist faith is love for the Catholic and Orthodox remnant therein and not the heresy. Of course we don’t love the heresy. You, too, made the assumption, that the Church would ordain anybody who fogs the glass, due to the shortage of priests.

But my assumption is reasonable. He after all was already a Baptist minister, and I never met a baptist minister who is not aware of the Baptist heretical dogmas. So, whatever the shortage of priests had to do with it, I don’t think a minister would convert to Catholicism without renouncing the anti-Catholic dogmas of the Baptist faith. We have therefore to conclude that his love for the Baptist faith is not a love of heresy he had left behind.

[flaglady47]

“Serving two masters sums it up perfectly.”

You know, that is such a subjective statement on your part. Obviously the Vatican didn’t think he was about to serve two masters. You’ve never met this man, you can’t read his mind, but you make this great overarching assumption about him. I should think you would be delighted that this man has “seen the light” so to speak, and with his great former knowledge of theology and his pastoral ability already proven, that he is now using those skills in the name of the Catholic Church. You should be rejoicing that it’s one more sheep returning to the fold of the original Christian Church. I wish him well in his future efforts for the Church.

[bethelgrad]

Did he at least have to attend a Catholic seminary?

[NYer]

Did he at least have to attend a Catholic seminary?

Yes! Absolutely.

[webrover]

Okay.

[Between the Lines]

Being a Baptist the idea of a pastor's wife not being of the same faith is foreign to me. 1 Timothy 3:1-7 outlines all the qualifications, but verses 4 and 5 get to my point.

4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?)

In most Baptist churches have a wife of another faith would disqualify him from becoming a pastor (or any other leadership position). Verse 6 adds that he may not be a recent convert and I think that would also apply in this case being that Fr. Harris converted only six years ago.

I realize that Catholics do not use pastor, elder, and bishops as interchangeably as do Baptists. But if you look at 1 Timothy 3:8-13 you see that the qualifications for Deacons are basically the same as that of overseers. So if the qualifications are the same for these two types of shepherds should that not also logically be extended to all shepherds?

[NYer]

So if the qualifications are the same for these two types of shepherds should that not also logically be extended to all shepherds?

As I commented in an earlier post, there is probably a lot more to this story than has been reported. There are far too many inconsistencies.

[annalex]

The Church does not treat 1 Timothy 3 as a commandment for all times; if it did, it would demand that bishops be married and in fact the opposite is demanded. But even from the sola scriptura perspective -- which the Church does not have -- the chapter does not demand that the wife conforms to the husband in matters of faith; in fact, in 1 Cor 7 we see that while disparate faiths create a grounds for divorce, there is no advice to simply coerce the wife. Faith has been treated as strictly a matter of personal conscience by the Chruch, as of course it should be. Further, St. Paul speaks of unbelievers, that is Jews and pagans, and we have a less drastic a situation when both spouses are Christian but not in communion.

I would assume that Fr. David went to a Catholic seminary or at least satisfied the requirements for priestly formation, and so he is no longer a "neophyte".

This being said, I admit that this is highly unusual case and hope that it is not pushed by some dissenting bishop to make a "fact on the ground" for married Latin priesthood as a general rule.

[annalex]

Yes, see my previous post.

[NYer]

Yes, see my previous post.

Are you referring to this?

He after all was already a Baptist minister, and I never met a baptist minister who is not aware of the Baptist heretical dogmas. So, whatever the shortage of priests had to do with it, I don’t think a minister would convert to Catholicism without renouncing the anti-Catholic dogmas of the Baptist faith. We have therefore to conclude that his love for the Baptist faith is not a love of heresy he had left behind.

I would agree. On yet another Journey Home program, Marcus Grodi spoke with a former Hindu who converted to the Catholic faith while living in Canada. He also became a priest. You can imagine how his family reacted. Prior to his ordination, he went home to visit them, in India. While he was there, he explained the Catholic faith and his calling to the priesthood. There was a chalice he particularly wanted but could not afford. On the day of his ordination, his entire family was present and gave him that chalice as a gift. Here was a former Hindu, being ordained a Catholic priest, and he cried tears of joy and anguish at the beatiful gift from his family - a gift they gave from the heart with so little understanding of its importance.

EWTN's program The Journey Home is one of my favorites! Can you tell ;-)?

[annalex]

I actually meant my 43, agreeing with you that this article leaves a lot of questions unanswered.

[HighlyOpinionated]

There are far too many inconsistencies.

Yes but if the reporter has an agenda, then . . . even Catholic reporters for the local diocese paper can have agendas.

The story is interesting and probably someone should follow up on it if that 'gut' feeling is there. (Mine is the wine, so untrustworthy.) I know personally of only one married Priest (former Anglican) who is married and was placed as "Parish Administrator" and not as Priest, but who could act as Priest at Mass and Eucharist. I went to Mass there only a couple times and my 'gut' (it wasn't the wine) feeling was that 'married clergy are why I left the Reformation church (Lutheran Mo-Syn) and I cannot accept married clergy in the Catholic Church' so I quit attending there.

I was married to a Lutheran Pastor for 8 years. I do not believe that clergy of any faith or denomination should be married. That's MY opinion, your mileage may vary, as we say.