JAWS drop when Robyn Edebohls tells people what her husband does. "He's a Catholic priest," she says, and they say: "Sure, what does he really do?"
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Father Edebohls was formerly the Anglican dean of Ballarat and archdeacon of Italy and Malta before switching to the Church of Rome a few years ago. He spent the past 18 months as assistant priest at St John's, Heidelberg. "It's been a life-long journey," he said yesterday.
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But Father Edebohls said most could see the difference between a priest who had vowed to be celibate, then had to leave, and the issue of other married priests coming into communion with Rome. By order of the Vatican, he is a "priest in charge" rather than a parish priest, but he said this made no difference to his daily parish ministry.
Nor is his ministry that different from an Anglican one, although, being a hospital chaplain as well, he is busier now.
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I honestly have no problem with married priests. We have a married priest at the church I attended in Dallas. He is a former Episcopal priest, who became Catholic years ago. We love him A LOT. He's also a hospital chaplain and his stories are very inspiring.
But, those are not the only two married priests in the Catholic church. Here's more from ScienceDaily:
The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Jeffrey Hopper is preparing for ordination under a 25-year-old program begun by Pope John Paul II.
Episcopal congregations are also allowed to join the Catholic church while retaining their traditional liturgy and married clergy.
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About 70 former Episcopal priests are now serving as Catholic priests in the United States.
Once he is a priest, Hopper can administer sacraments and perform other functions. But, as a married man, he is barred from serving as a church's senior pastor.
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This is fair enough. If a priest DOES NOT want to go up in the food chain, then he should be allowed to marry. It's just an opinion.
2 comments:
Not only former Episcopal priests, but also priests of Eastern Rite Churches obedient to Rome can be married. Since it is evident that married priests can exist in the Church, and also that there is a great shortage of priests, perhaps the Vatican should realize providing the sacraments to the faithful is more important than an outdated custom. I have great respect for the vows of celibacy that many priests feel called to, and they especially make sense in religious orders. But there is no reason why a married man cannot also be a dedicated parish priest.
Liam,
It's true about Eastern Rite Churches allowing priests to marry, except for the Chaldean Catholic church -- no surprise with my church.
My dad's uncle was a married Chaldean priest. I believe it wasn't an issue in Iraq at the beginning of the 20th century.
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