Posted on 05/19/2014 3:42:16 PM PDT by windcliff
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Twenty-six women who say they are in love with Roman Catholic priests have written to Pope Francis urging him to make celibacy optional.
The women, who all live in Italy, described the "devastating suffering" caused by the church's ban on priests having sex and marrying.
"We love these men and they love us," they said in their letter published on the authoritative website Vatican Insider.
"With humility, we place at your feet our suffering so that something can change, not just for us but for the good of the whole Church," they added in the message, signed with their first names and an initial of their last names, but with several phone numbers.
Priestly celibacy in the Roman Catholic Church, while not a unchangeable dogma, is a tradition going back more than 1,000 years.
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In recent decades the Vatican has come under pressure to make celibacy optional and allow priests to marry, with supporters saying that this would help ease the acute shortage of priests in many areas.
The women asked the pope to "bless our love," adding that few people could understand the "devastating suffering lived by a woman who has a strong love for a priest".
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Even if this happens (which I sincerely doubt), a priest which has already taken a vow of celibacy-has already taken the vow before God. Any change would only apply to new priests.
Those priests had the option to NOT take a vow of celibacy when they were ordained. They can’t change their minds and marry. To do that they must leave the priesthood (or be ordained under the eastern rites.) Only Roman Catholic priests take a vow of celibacy (that I know of.) I believe it is referred to as the Petrine rite (?)
The marriage option for priests would only apply to married men who then got ordained. Already-ordained priests still couldn’t get married. That’s the way it is with Eastern Orthodox.
Whatever one’s views about Catholic priests and celibacy the fact remains that priests are not allowed marriage. Silly are the women and priests in their decision to alter this requirement and allow themselves to be emotionally attached as lovers. In the old testament priestly ‘scribes’ celibates often chose to be made eunuchs but most OT Temple priests appeared to have been married.
Exactly.
::cues violin::
IB4TNRC
Hmmm.
Notice they don’t present their demands within the concept of marriage. Its all about them. Their wants.
Selfish to encourage a priest to break their Catholic vows...and I’m not a Catholic.
I wonder who will be the lucky one to get a call from Francis.
This has become a joke already.
They come off as silly, melodramatic and possibly unbalanced. Would not be surprised if Pope Francis also inspires romantic yearnings among such women.
I am not a Catholic, and so I do not agree with the idea that celibacy is a requirement for the ministry - but I also agree that the Catholic Church can set the requirements for those who wish to serve as ministers in their organization. If these priests do not agree with those requirements, they should either step down from the ministry or move over to the Anglican or Orthodox churches, both of which allow their ministers to marry.
yep. they may very well get one.
what do these ladies look like?
I may know someone who’s available....
:)
:)
I sometimes think that insanity is too prevalent amongst my sex.
God made woman for man. Wouldn’t you know the Catholics would rebel against that. Might of saved a lot of child molestation crimes if it weren’t for their quirky beliefs.
Yeah, well it's self inflicted, so why should Rome change because some women prefer an imaginary relationship to a real one?
Won’t happen.
Eastern rite priests, both Catholic and Orthodox, take a vow of celibacy if they are ordained before being married. It is only from these celibate priests that bishops are selected.
pinging without comment
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