Married Priests Now!

30/05/2008

Peoria diocese ordains its first married priest

RELIGION BEAT

Doug Grandon will add the role of Catholic priest to his roles of father and husband one week from today.

The 49-year-old Sterling native and father of six will become the first married man to be ordained a priest in the Catholic Diocese of Peoria. Widowers have been ordained, but never someone whose wife is still alive, said Monsignor Paul Showalter, vicar general for the diocese.

Grandon is a former Episcopal priest who converted to Catholicism in 2003 along with his wife, Lynn, and four of their children.

About 100 Episcopal priests, many of them married, have become Catholic priests since a "pastoral provision" was created by Pope John Paul II in 1980, said Grandon, director of catechetics for the diocese.

Grandon said that though he came to the Christian faith as a 14-year-old born-again convert who attended an evangelical-Pentecostal church in Sterling, he’s been on this path to becoming a Roman Catholic priest the whole time, all along asking himself, "What is (the church) supposed to be like and how do I fit in it?"

"I’ve always felt from the time I was a teenager that I was called to be an ordained minister," Grandon said. "So it was natural as an evangelical and an Anglican and now as a Roman Catholic that I would pursue that."

Grandon brings plenty of experience to his new vocation.

He went to Yugoslavia in the late 1970s as a missionary serving underground churches, being ordained as an evangelical minister in 1978. Grandon started the Church on Glen Hill in Peoria in 1988, serving as pastor there until 1995, when he left for studies at St. Louis University.

After studying church history there, Grandon felt led to enter the Anglican tradition. Ordained an Episcopal priest in 1999, he was pastor at Christ Church in Moline for four years before converting to Catholicism. That move came out of a desire to more fully be in communion with the bishop of Rome, he said.

Grandon said the possibility of his becoming a Catholic priest was discussed early on. He went through several examinations, was assigned reading, and waited through the bureaucratic process.

Bishop Daniel Jenky twice asked the priests of the diocese whether they would have any problems with a married priest being among them, Grandon said. Jenky told Grandon there was "universal consensus" that he should proceed.

"The priests (of the Diocese of Peoria) have been more than kind, more than sensitive from the beginning," Grandon said.

The permission from Pope Benedict XVI for Jenky to ordain Grandon

arrived on April 25. He and five other men will be ordained as priests at a 10:30 a.m. Mass on May 24 at St. Mary’s Cathedral, 607 NE Madison.

The best thing about becoming a Catholic priest, said Grandon, will be celebrating the Eucharist and knowing for sure the bread and wine are becoming the body and blood of Christ during the Mass.

His family life will remain the same, he said. Contrary to popular misunderstandings, he won’t have to be celibate.

"We have had comical questions about that from people that have tried to very graciously ask," said Lynn Grandon.

Actually, married priests are common in Eastern parts of the Catholic Church, such as the Maronite and Byzantine rites. He’ll also be able to provide for his family, since diocesan priests don’t have to take a vow of poverty.

His wife, who oversees the diocesan office of Respect Life/Human Dignity, said their children are "very, very happy" about the ordination.

The best change, she said, will be to hear him preach again.

"Honestly, we have had the joy of listening to his extraordinary sermons for 20 years, and we missed those," she said.

Vicar general Showalter said Grandon’s ordination and ministry will "offer an opportunity for us to have this experience in our diocese, see how a priest who is married will function in our parish and diocesan system."

"It’s going to be new, so there is some nervousness or apprehension on the part of some," Showalter said. He added, though, that Grandon already is well-known throughout the diocese as director of catechetics.

There will be no nervousness or apprehension for Lynn Grandon, only joy.

"I’ve watched him all of these years on this journey," Lynn Grandon said. "He has had to sort through all of his theology. I watched his anguish. I feel like he’s come on this arduous journey, and now he’s started on this new season of his life where he’s meant to be. We’re just going to get behind him and do all we can to back him in his ministry."

MICHAEL MILLER covers religion for the Journal Star. Write to him in care of the Journal Star, 1 News Plaza, Peoria, IL 61643, call him at 686-3106, or send e-mail to mmiller@.... Comments may be published.

Author Nickname: marriedpriests date time 16:06 | Permalink | commenti
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29/05/2008

Nashville priest says married men should be allowed to be priests

Priest shortage poses challenge for Catholic Church

By BOB SMIETANA
Staff Writer

When the Rev. Joseph Breen first arrived at St. Edward Catholic Church in 1984, he found a thriving parish. There were 750 families, 300 children in the parochial school, and two assistant priests on the staff to keep things running smoothly.

"Now we have over 1,200 families, 480 children in the school, and one old priest, 73 years old," Breen said, referring to himself.

St. Edward illustrates the problem the Catholic Church in America faces. While the number of Catholics continues to grow, topping 64 million last year, the number of priests continues to dwindle. Since 1985, the number of diocesan priests has dropped from 35,052 to 27,971, and the number of parishes without a priest in residence has tripled. In 2007, 3,238 parishes — or one in six — were without a priest.

For Breen, one solution to this crisis seems clear. The Catholic Church, he says, needs to allow married men to become priests.

He points out that many married men already are leaders in the church as permanent deacons.

"I would hope the bishops would find the courage, the nerve, the leadership skills, to tell the pope, for the good of our church, we have to ordain these married men to become full-time pastors," Breen said. "They would be a tremendous asset to the church."

But Mark Sappenfield, who will be ordained as a priest next week, believes that marriage and the priesthood don’t mix.

A Marine Corps vet who worked as a certified public accountant before going to seminary, Sappenfield says marriage, like the priesthood, is a calling. Balancing the two would be impossible, he believes.

"If you pay attention to your marriage, then you will neglect your flock," he said.
"If you pay attention to your flock, then you’ll neglect your marriage."

3 to join priesthood

Sappenfield, along with Nicholas Allen and Anthony Lopez, will be ordained May 30. They make up the largest class of new priests in more than two decades.

Rick Musscahio, director of communications for the local diocese, says there also are more than 15 other potential Nashville priests in seminary.

Still, the numbers are daunting. Of the 87 Catholic priests in Nashville, only three are under 40.

Twelve local pastors are in their 70s. And the diocese has had to import 23 pastors from overseas to serve.

Sappenfield admits this is a challenging time.

"Things may not change for a while," Sappenfield said. "The Church has been
around for 2,000 years, and there have been a few rough centuries. This may be one of them."

But the privilege of serving God and parishioners, he adds, will outweigh any difficulties. With prayer and God’s grace, Sappenfield hopes to be faithful to his calling. "Being a priest means leading people to Christ," he said.

Burden has grown

Breen believes that young priests are being asked to take on an impossible task.

"There is little or no support for a celibate priesthood," he says. "Thirty, 40, or 50 years ago, it was altogether different."

When Breen was ordained 46 years ago, the world was very different. A Nashville native, Breen says the local Catholic community was a tightknit place. Families were larger, and mothers often stayed home. And, there was always a place at the table for the priest.

Today, parishioners and priests are too busy to build close relationships, Breen says.

"That seems like a small thing, but it’s very important," said Breen.

Also, new priests have few colleagues to help shoulder their burdens. When Breen arrived at St. Edward in South Nashville, he had two assistants to help manage the parish. The three priests also lived together in the parish rectory, building camaraderie that helped make the challenges of the priesthood easier to bear.

Without strong relationships with lay people and other clergy, he believes, priests can be overwhelmed by their work.

"You have to deal with the tragedies in life," he said. "But then you have to be wise enough to surround yourself with strong, healthy relationships. Otherwise you can burn out."

Despite his age, Breen still relishes his work as a priest. Anytime he feels discouraged, he pops over to the elementary school. Being around that many young people keeps him going.

"I hope I have two or three more good years in me," he said. "It has been a struggle all these years, I have been 46 years a priest, but for the most part it has been a wonderful journey."

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080525/NEWS06/805250412/1023/NEWS01

Author Nickname: marriedpriests date time 21:52 | Permalink | commenti
categories:celibacy

05/05/2008

The Pope visited U.S! What really Change?

I profoundly think that the bishops, the American clergy and the Catholics should take the opportunity to address to the Pontiff the real crisis the Church is facing right now._ THE PRIEST SHORTAGE AND THE CELIBACY.

The priest shortage because of the rule of priest celibacy which is neither Biblical nor apostolic. One can go back to the middle ages or the beginning of the Church; you will not find anywhere neither God the Creator nor Jesus Christ the Savior nor the Redeemer recommended celibacy for any human being. In fact, marriage is part of our life. Man and woman together is the reality of the creation; it is God will, God purpose. Genesis chapter 2:7 said: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being”. Verse 18: “and the Lord said, it is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” Verse 21 and the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. The rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said; “this is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.” And the Bible continues to say; therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh. So denying some the right to marry or force some one to leave celibate, man or woman is rebuked God work of creation. Is like telling God He made a mistake or He was wrong so that we are entitled to fix His mistake. Many of our scholars, doctors of the law, master’s degree in theology or Holy Scripture have no problem put themselves in conflict with God. Our popes, our cardinals, our bishops and priests often reversed the will of God, turned God down when it come to observe and obey the commandment or God desire.

LACK OF INTEREST IN HUMAN RULES.

Today the crisis that the Church is facing is not a lack of vocation. No, it is a question of acceptability and a lack of interest of a rule which is not compatible with the normal life of any human being or the purpose for what we were created. They are many men and women, young and old who want to serve in the Catholic Church. Many who want to become priests, nuns, sisters and brothers but they are banned from service because of a human rule and regulation.

WHAT IS THE REALITY OF TODAY’S CHURCH?

Of course we have to face the reality of today’s Church. There is a serious declining in the priesthood all over the world. Many of our parishes are without a resident priest. Many Catholics in the countries, in the mountains cannot see a priest. Some of them see a priest every 3 months, some of them could have Holy Communion every six months; and consequently, our pews are empty, we witness our parishioners, our baptized Roman Catholics before our own eyes enters in EXODUS PHASE toward other denominations searching for refuge and comfort.

DO WE HAVE AN EXIT STRATEGY OR SOLUTION?

En reality the problem is serious but nobody wants to face it. Nobody wants to address it. Our bishops and priests preferred to live Scandal after Scandal instead of making their voices heard. We have to do something, we have to take a stand against the big interest and corruption in Vatican, we have to stand for what is right and Biblical, not for the interest of MONEY, but thanks to God there is one who take the lead, there is one who is not afraid to lose everything for what is right and for the teaching of the GOSPEL and the tradition of the APOSTLES. He is not afraid even to jeopardize his own career.

ARCHBISHOP EMMANUEL MILLING OF ZAMBIA IN AFRICA took the right stand by asking Vatican to recognize the marriage of priest, reconciled those who are married with the Church, put them back on duty and put an end to celibacy because there is no provision in the GOSPEL for such interdiction. IT IS UNBIBLICAL AND EVEN HERECTIC.

We too, member of the Catholic Church needs to take action by petition the bishops in our dioceses and remind them of the recommendation of Paul to Timothy concerning the moral religious of a bishop. He said in 1 Timothy 3 v 1: “This is faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife.” And he said: “One who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence. For if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he takes care of the Church of God.?”

THE CHURCH AND THE ORIGIN OF THE CELIBACY.

The celibacy for priests was imposed by man not by GOD or JESUS. All the Apostles were married. Many of the first Popes and bishops were married. In fact, the CONCIL OF CARTHAGE authorized marriage not only for priests but also for all ministers of the altar beginning with the bishops. That was emperor Justinian who decreed in 533 that the bishops must be recruited among the monks because those religious men had no children to inherit the property of the Church which constituted the biggest wealth of Byzantine.

According to www.libchrist.com the idea of the Church celibacy is inconsistent. Before the Middle Ages Catholic priests was married and have wife and children. But with concerns for protecting Church property from inheritance Pope Pelagius 1 made new priests agree offspring could not inherit Church property. Also Pope Gregory then declared all sons of priests illegitimate. The article continues to say that in 1022 Pope Benedict VIII banned marriages for priests and in 1139 Pope Innocent II voided all marriages of priests and all new priests to divorces their wives.

It is good and even necessary to remind the Church and the hierarchy where we came from as a Church, the body of Christ. It is also important to remind them that we are all member of one body. Therefore if one part of the body suffers all the members are suffering. No one absolutely no one can claim paternity. The Church was founded by Jesus Christ and the Apostles were the foundation and will remain its foundation until the glorious return of our LORD JESUS CHRIST.

May God bless you all!

Your humble servant and brother in Christ

Dom Emmanuel Pierre Gelais Jean

Author Nickname: marriedpriests date time 11:10 | Permalink | commenti (1)
categories:celibacy

01/05/2008

Archbishop Milingo's Comments on NY Times Papal USA Visit Article

My Dear and Excellencies, Archbishops and Bishops of the Married Priests now Prelature,

The New York Times religion editor, Peter Steinfels, has maintained two terms all throughout his recent article about the visit of the Pope to U.S.A :

1. God Crisis

2. Church crisis

Both situations are classified as crisis. Both of them are not crisis with a pejorative meaning. The situation of the world was in the worst condition when Jesus came. But He faced it with His own life through His edifying words, calling people to repentance. He went about doing good.” “I came to give them life, and life in abundance.” “Who can love up to the extent of giving one’s life.”

What is happening in the Catholic Church is not strange, it is a repetition of Church history. There are stages of growth. But the Catholic Church has to know how to use these occasions. In the past God spoke to the Church by arousing the spirits of special people, such as St. Francis of Asissi (1181-1116), St. Hilary of Poitiers (315-368), St. Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419), St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), St. Louis de Montfort (1673-1716), etc. In recent years Father Lombardo, the Jesuit, after Vatican Council II, and Father Tardiff. God Himself provides at any period of crisis His own envoys, who are badly treated by the Church, which is the Vatican. None of all these mentioned above had good relation with the administrative Catholic Church. The story of Padre Pio is still alive today in the minds of the people, though, after 40 years. His body exhumed, still gives testimony of what an envoy of God on earth he was. But what the Roman Catholic Church did to him is shameful.

Today, simple souls, living in Rome, around the Vatican have rather chosen to pray for the Roman curia, rather than looking for access to the Pope or to his Curia Romana. The Vatican should close administrative offices and curial duties, and go themselves for one year to live among the faithful, as Jesus did for three years. “He had no place even a stone to put His head on.” When He spoke, using the parables, He took them from the people’s daily life. The people then understood Him.

The crisis in the Roman Catholic Church is God sent.

It is time to find out in the Roman Catholic Church those who are there to be served than to serve. Some in the high ecclesiastical ranks believe that it was their destiny to be where they are as they dish out laws, which they themselves don’t live by. They enjoy to rule, to give orders. One sees how depressed they are when they are either demoted, or transferred to another place or position. The crisis comes from the center of administration of the Catholic Church, which has adapted a distant control administration, believing in unchangeable laws is unable to see its own close weakness, in which it lives every day. The common cry in the whole Church is that “We have no genuine pastors; People who take the salvation of souls as top priority.” If the Episcopal conferences continue to parrot the ideas from the Vatican, there will be no response to counteract the crisis. The Episcopal conferences should reflect the voices, aspirations, and Pastoral needs of the local churches. The Vatican should listen as well as to learn from the local churches the progress and aspirations they present to them. The message then “Go and preach the Gospel” will be reality, sharing faith with the People of God.

Here is the warning of wisdom:

“If therefore, as servants of His Kingdom, you have not ruled justly nor observed the law, nor followed the will of God, He will fall on you swiftly and terribly. On the highly placed a ruthless judgment falls; the lowly are pardoned, out of pity, but the mighty will be mightily tormented.” (Wisdom 6: 4-6).

The God Crisis

Strange enough that today thousands and thousands of people swear by God. They react in God when they are hurt. They are repeating what Jesus prayed to His Father. When He felt the pinch of suffering, loneliness and solitude: “Father, why have you abandoned me.” they say in despair. “If there is a God, why does He not come to my rescue, in this miserable unjust situation?” It means they want to feel the presence of God, who is loving and just.

Looking at the growth of religions in the world, one notices, that people are looking for a God of their own, who will understand their language, when they have failed to feel His presence in their archaic stagnant religious rituals in the churches to which they belong. Such are the churches which close doors to renewal.

There was a time, when in U.S.A. someone uttered a blasphemy: “God is dead.” He did not mean that truly God was dead. He was annoyed with the ungodliness of those who claimed that they were believers in God. He had a clear concept of God, which he could not reconcile with those who claimed to be the children of God. The reaction from the proud Christians was terrible. They would have stoned him to death, if they had come across him. On the other hand, this friend of mine helped many Christians to make an examination of conscience as to how far their Christianity was lived in their daily life. Most of them were Sunday Church goers. It ended there, and closed doors of their hearts and minds as they left the Church. They went back to their evil ways, to their vomit, to the disappointment of the on-lookers.

To say that it is a period of God’s crisis is not in the least true. Even foot-ball players do not hide their faith today. They make the sign of the cross as they begin to play foot-ball, or when they make a goal. God’s presence means a lot to them. The God crisis is in the Vatican, which has forgotten that what they do comes from God, and should continuously be inspired by someone above, the Holy Spirit. While as a matter of fact they have become the full time guardians of their own rules through the eyes of their own laws they see everything, and judge everything. They repeat the words of Pilate: “What is written, is written, no change.”

If the past has any meaning to the Vatican, let them at least have a look at the writings of the saints, who were in the same Catholic administration. St. Peter Chrysologus, for instance, called the “Golden-worded,” for his practical sermons has this to say to us: “Let us be motivated by mutual love and bind ourselves in bonds of saving charity, which covers a multitude of sins. We should embrace love with every desire of our hearts, for it can have as many graces as rewards. We should guard peace before all the Virtues, for God is always present in peace. (Peter Chrysologus: 406-450).

The Consequences of Abandoning Married Priests.

The list of Catholic Independent Churches is beyond counting. The one word they hate to add to their churches is “Roman.” They see “Roma” as truly the center of secular power. A word from Africa: “We are the death toll of the colonial and Neo-colonial Church for an Independent African Church. We want to snub this Church which ruined and still ruins our continent because of its links with colonial powers.” Latin America has worse stories to tell. When will the Vatican learn to be human?

I wrote back in answer to the above from Africa: “I do not want to find ourselves with only accusations against the Church, without demonstrating concretely the alternative future doctrine from African wisdom.” He answered back: “The child has fun with an object, but never with the breast of his mother.” He meant that he acknowledges the motherhood of the Catholic Church, all that deals with this motherhood is to be respected. Then I answered: “Kubala Njumodzi,” let us avoid anything which may lead to physical clashes. Because whatever hurts we cause, we should avoid them, because we are doing them to ourselves.” The proverb goes back to the mothers who ought to avoid to do harm to the children of other families. Because every mother passed through birth-pangs. How I wish the Roman Catholic Church was human with “The viscera di misericordia - the bowls of mercy.”

Is it true that those priests who have married can be put on the shelf, and truly have no value in the eyes of God. “To err is human, but to persevere in error is diabolical.” The Catholic Church erred to connect celibacy with priesthood. Is celibacy more valuable than priesthood? This is a wrong doctrine.

My dear brothers, married Priests, let us not believe these tenets of the Roman Catholic Church. Without front-line soldiers, the village is attacked, ravaged, and then follow the massacre of unarmed men, women and children. Today without priests the Catholic church has empty seminaries, consequently empty churches without priests to administer sacraments. Let us present ourselves wherever there is need for pastoral services. I thank you, those of you who have already taken the initiative. Let us know how you went about it. Without doubt you have our blessings. We can only say, “God bless you.”

Arch. E. Milingo

God Bless,Yours Sincerely,

Archbishop E. Milingo

CheongShim Villa,

176 Songsan-Ri, Seolak-Myun
Gapyung-Gun, Kyunggi Province, South Korea

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