I am a Protestant with a job in a Catholic Church, so I needed to get that out there right at the start. I find no Biblical injunction against Priests being married. In fact, I think a very strong case can be made that early Christian church leaders (and what we would probably now call "priests" or "pastors") were, routinely, MARRIED men. SO, I come at this discussion already with a bias in favor, so let that be clear at the outset.
I am also a strong believer in tradition--religious tradition, national traditions...you name it. I love stability, an appreciation for heritage and the comfort that traditions bring us. Yet, this tradition..priestly celibacy... has, maybe, outlived its usefulness, and certainly its effectiveness. The percentage of Protestant pastors that are involved in illicit affairs of one type or another is probably not much (if any) lower than it is among their colleagues in the Catholic Church. But, the percentage of those affairs that harm young people and/or unwilling participants is certainly far lower.
So...what do we do about it?
Love him or hate him (and I am not a fan of many of Francis's public statements that have challenged tradition and orthodoxy) the Pope may be leaning towards finally ending the celibacy requirement for Catholic priests.
Consider this article:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/issue-married-catholic-priests-gains-traction-under-pope-114244501.html
Here is an excerpt:
"The celibate priesthood has been a tradition of the Latin rite Catholic Church since the 11th century; no doctrine requires it, and many eastern rite Catholic Churches allow married men to be ordained. In addition, the Catholic Church allows married Anglican clergy who convert to remain in priestly ministry. Francis has long said he appreciates the discipline of celibacy, but that it can change given it is discipline, not doctrine."
SO, even the Church is coming around to publicly discussing the fact there is no Biblical doctrine precluding married priests. So, what is the obstacle? Orthodoxy and tradition...i.e. a decision to open this door could be seen by conservative Catholics as a "slippery slope" to opening other doors to entry into the priesthood that could doom the unity of the church. There are already large liberal elements of the Catholic Church who would be fine with "gay" priests, for example. Even more would be fine with female priests.
For the sake of the children, and others abused by the current set up, this may be a risk that a traditionalists may have to bare. We can fight those fights at a later time, but I think it is high time we do something...ANYTHING...meaningful that has a real chance of even partially alleviating the ongoing abuse problem in the Church.
Certainly married priests being introduced will not be a panacea, but it sounds to me like a good step to take--not only for the staffing shortages, but especially for the potential victims of frustrated celibates.
"But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion."
(I Corinthians 7:9)
Curated for #informationwar (by @commonlaw)
Our purpose is to encourage posts discussing Information War, Propaganda, Disinformation and other false narratives. We currently have over 8,000 Steem Power and 20+ people following the curation trail to support our mission.
Join our discord and chat with 200+ fellow Informationwar Activists.
Join our brand new reddit! and start sharing your Steemit posts directly to The_IW!
Connect with fellow Informationwar writers in our Roll Call! InformationWar - Contributing Writers/Supporters: Roll Call Pt 11
Ways you can help the @informationwar