Posted on 05/10/2016 6:09:28 AM PDT by marshmallow
I observe, rather, that esteem for vowed celibacy and esteem for vowed matrimony rise, or fall, in tandem.
There is an argument for marriage for secular priests but it sure makes it harder for the Bishop to reassign priests to where they are needed. And it does forget that the celibate priesthood assumes that the priest is first of all an apostle of Christ, with Paul being the prime example. The man who gives up everything in the name of Christ.
A married Priesthood is the rule rather than the exception in most of the world, particularly among the Eastern Religions, such as Shintoism, Hinduism and Buddhism.
Additionally, it was and remains traditional among Eastern Rite Catholicism as well as the Orthodox religions in the Balkans, particularly in Russia and Serbia.
Further, while not universal, married priests were common in Western Europe post-Christ till the 2nd Lateran Council which forbade the practice in 1139. In fact, a married priesthood existed for a longer period of time than a non-married one.
The Church has far greater problems than a married priesthood, starting w/a radical Marxist; who grew up under Juan Peron; sitting in the Papal Chair.
As for replacing predatory homosexuals w/married priests, I assert it to be a very good thing !!!
False dichotomy there, as if our choices were either to have predatory homosexual clergy or married clergy.
All the other churches have both.
The leading insurers which cover churches for liability in abuse cases, report there’s no difference in risk / liability between Catholic Churches and non-Catholic churches.
Google Philip Jenkins church abuse liability insurers
No interest in going round and round w/you; over a matter as dopey as insurance statistics. So have the last words, all of them, if you choose.
For me the predatory homosexual issue, while a disgrace, is peripheral to a much more important matter; re-affirming the primacy of the Family Unit as the bedrock of culture/society.
And what better mechanism to achieve this end than a married clergy. Got it!
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