33 Comments

• EdMahoney | Jan 25, 2012, 02:52 PM EST

  It is unfortunate that the Catholic Church does not allow priests to marry. The apostles were married. The restriction of marriage is un-natural. It also attracts those men that have a serious sexual problem & cannot face the real world. I truly hope that Rome changes things quickly. We've seen the results not only in Ireland & the U.S. but all over the world.

• OBPiper | Jan 24, 2012, 10:52 PM EST

  This is great news! The Church long allowed marriage and was egalitarian towards women in its hierarchy for a millenium or so, and I eagerly await it findings its roots. As a lawyer, I assure you that the Churche's assets can be structured to keep them out of the hands of spouses, children, etc. BTW, my ancestral name is Byrne (before my great grandfather from Laoighis-Kildare changed it.

• ciaradexy | Jan 24, 2012, 07:59 PM EST

  I reckon all Irish people would rather the rape of children by priests ended first.

• SingleDonald | Jan 24, 2012, 11:34 AM EST

  I worked with a woman, who had, sadly, lost a son to AIDS, in 1994. While he was in an HIV section, at old St. Claire's hospital, in NYC, he met many HIV afflicted priests. Though gay himself, this lady's son was dismayed that there were so many homosexual priests in the Catholic Church! He felt that the priesthood shouldn't be a "Gay Men's Club", as it was later described in a segment of "60 Minutes".

• fatherelijah | Jan 24, 2012, 02:14 AM EST

  Fr. Cullen speaks the truth although he is a bit too tactful. The bishops like in every century were particularly territorial and tyrannical in there rule. They devised up celibacy to defang the married pastors who would pull away from the bishop after a dispute regarding money and other such hot topics. The pastor with the support of wife and family would leave the church property and finances to them. With celibacy every priest would lose his backing and would be forced to remain obedient to his bishop despite how crooked he was. Celibacy is not of God since marriage was God's plan for man and woman. Even in the legend of Christ he never directed any of his followers to be married and in fact, he was married. Scripture must be interpreted that way by necessity since every rabbi was married that is true without having the actual documents the church discarded about the marriage. When Jesus was asked by the young man how to be perfect he never called him to be celibate, but to sell all he had and follow him. The church will have to allow marriage soon because it attracts mostly homosexuals to the ministry. Nearly 8 out of 10 priests are homosexual and that is truly an understatement.

• FGreggMeagher | Jan 24, 2012, 01:55 AM EST

  According to statistics and witnesses, who have abandoned the priesthood > The Catholic Church will have to move in the direction of 'Same sex Marriages' next... among the religious ones. That's ok! What is important is that they stop raping and abusing small children!

• forflann | Jan 23, 2012, 08:55 PM EST

  Reply tp Lambopolis: While your comment is it would seem meant with tongue-in-cheek Donna Woolfolk Cross presents, in her book, Pope Joan a good case for a short reign of a monk John Angelicus as Pope. So perhaps your idea may have some truth. 824 was a turbulent era, Sarecen invasion of the Vatican,poisioning of Pope Leo, presure from the Emperor to seat his man on the throne of Rome, by force if neccesary. The monk, a woman who had received a good Greek education with her brother, took his place when he was killed in a viking raid. She only wanted to serve God and learn the practice of Medicine. In 853 she chosen Pope, only to be found out 2 years later. The writer spent 7 years on research. it's not impossible in such times an inconvient piece of history could be removed. At the council of Nicea, 50 books in use by the early Christians were removed from what we now call the Bible. Those Christian priests and Elders married, Women were a part of the service. The Cathars were the last people who were Gnostic and they were wiped out in France, mid 1,000's. Theybelieved inservingthe poor, or sick in a selfless way, and did not believe in having riches, or having golden implements at their services. THEY seem to have been true followers of Christ's way, too bad Rome didn't see it that way.

• JoePatAl | Jan 23, 2012, 08:38 PM EST

  About Time!!! Of course, the current backwards thinking and acting Pontiff won't agree but the time has come. Afterall, despite the Church's teaching, deep down I always did believe that Jesus WAS married to Mary (even before the Davinci Code came forth)and that the celebacy stuff was just 'man made.'

• charlie50 | Jan 23, 2012, 07:02 PM EST

  May I direct people to John Paul II's Theology of the Body and the Chapters explaining "Continence for the Kingdom" that clearly implied by Jesus as documented in Scripture. It is the best explanation I have read. Calling celibacy a "business arrangement" reveals an attituded grounded in the worldly view of life and a lack of spiritual depth.

• bobtheknob | Jan 23, 2012, 06:14 PM EST

  I think the popularity of the missionary position will reach unprecedented heights.

• CitizenWhy | Jan 23, 2012, 05:41 PM EST

  Come to think of it, castration for RC priest is not a bad idea. It will cut down on the sex problems.

• CitizenWhy | Jan 23, 2012, 05:39 PM EST

  Well, in the Eastern Roman Empire the threat to alienation of royal property came from generals, not married priests, so priests were allowed to be married and generals were castrated. Of course this practice was surrounded with pious nonsense, such as the court of the emperor resembling that of God in heaven since the angels were sexless and so were the generals. Actually, those cynical Byzantines were probably just exercising a warped sense of humor by using that simile.

• Curitiba | Jan 23, 2012, 04:29 PM EST

  With the greatest respect Father John, it is the Catholic church that is falling apart, especially in the face of charismatic Protestant sects and Islam. There was a report in the UK papers about prisoners converting to Islam to get better food. They are better organised and aggressive in seeking converts than than we are. Less and less young Irish and other European people are going to church. I have seen many young European women dressed in hijabs lately. I even saw an Irish guy who had converted to Islam in my local supermarket. I was flabbergasted to hear his Irish accent. As others have correctly stated, celibacy for priests has been in existence since the First Lateran Council in 1123. If the Catholic Church survive the challenge posed by other religions, the first thing it must do is abolish celibacy. That way you will get a greater pool of talent willing to become priests. Secondly, more worldly and younger Popes must be elected. Goodness and holiness is not enough in today's political world. Leave celibacy to the monks. If the Church is not assertive enough in getting its message across to the masses and does not find a way to make itself a central part of people's lives, it will lose more young people who will drift away to atheism, evangelical churches, or be seduced by the uncompromising message of the other religion I have mentioned, which happens to be Europe's fastest growing faith.

• seanomelbourne | Jan 23, 2012, 04:14 PM EST

  FRJohn is out of touch with reality. It's not known if Jesus was married or not was "the Magdalene" his partner in life.Marriage was not forbidden until some pope signed off on it.

• CelticLady51 | Jan 23, 2012, 03:44 PM EST

  I think that ending celebacy would be a good thing. One thing we know is that the ban has not stopped all priests and nuns from sexual contact and then there is the fact that the church is a hiding place for pediphiles! Not that the end of celebacy will totally stop that, but perhaps if priests and nuns were free to marry, it would attract a better field of candidates for both callings.

• PhlutiePhan | Jan 23, 2012, 03:34 PM EST

  When I was at university, a Jesuit professor told me that the problem has never been with "married priests", it has been with "divorced priests" and would dovetail with the article on business and property rights.

• snakehips | Jan 23, 2012, 03:30 PM EST

  Great to really see a man of Godly virtues and mission. That's what priests are supposed to be. Eliminating celibacy would be the fist step towards being "numbers up" on the current cadre of misanthropes.

• Collette2 | Jan 23, 2012, 02:53 PM EST

  Good, maybe now they will make honest women out of those who have fathered children. Mike Cleary and Bishop Eaumon Casey automatically comes to mind, right under every ones nose yet turned the other away treating the mothers and children as a non event, including blood relations. Shame on them all and all else of the same ilk, worldwide.

• CaliforniaShamrock | Jan 23, 2012, 02:29 PM EST

  Since when did Jesus institute celibacy! - if Peter (the first Pope) had a mother in law he must have had a wife somewhere. I am not as optimistic as the missionary - having heard from a missionary Bishop 40 years ago the same prediction and still have not seen the church make sense with it - in some cultures a man is not considered responsible and an adult until he is married - so much for the vocation crisis - married priests were the norm for at least 1000 years in the Catholic church until we got caught up in property and inheritance issues!!!

• Fr.John | Jan 23, 2012, 02:22 PM EST

  I have never seen so many ignorant statments about celibacy. Jesus instituted it. Celibacy is going no where and if you think it is you have no understanding of it just like Fr. Cullen dosen't. Jesus was celibate for the Kingdome (Matt 19) and He apostles left everything. The Anglican Church is falling apart and Rome is trying to be generous. It is both biblican and Historical and Theological. It is a gift to the Church. The priest stands in the place of the Bride Groom (Jesus) ministering to his bride the Church. St. Paul calls married men "Divided". The ideal priest is not divided...Married ones are. Learn you faith people.

• Springfield9 | Jan 23, 2012, 02:12 PM EST

  Celibacy was instituted to stop theft of church property by the families of deceased priests. The you have it. Since I am not a priest, I cannot justify wasting a brain cell on this.

• dwilson94 | Jan 23, 2012, 01:11 PM EST

  I am not so sure that this will happen and it will definitely never happen in the reign of the current pope.

• Nicomax | Jan 23, 2012, 12:58 PM EST

  Double standard is exactly correct. Plus, the Anglican married 'priest' wanted out because the Anglican Church was allowing too many women and same-sex clergy enter their power structure. Progressive thinking Anglicans should join with similar-thinking Catholics and form a more contemporary church and let the old-liners hold onto their out-dated principles.

• reebus856 | Jan 23, 2012, 12:21 PM EST

  It strikes me as a double standard for the Church to welcome former Anglican priests AND their wives & children then not allow men who very much want to minister in the Church to marry. I've known a number of "former" priests who had to leave their true vocation because they wanted to marry the person they loved[shock]. There would be a significant increase in available preists if these married priests were allowed back to active ministry. Increases in new vocations would skyrocket as well. I'm not stating anything new. Celibacy was instituted to correct a problem ~500-1000 yrs ago, but is no longer relevant today. Celibacy is a noble CHOICE and should be honored as such-not imposed for all applicants seeking to serve the Church.

• donal1951 | Jan 23, 2012, 11:06 AM EST

  It's not just the Anglicans who have joined Rome who are allowed to marry. Many Eastern Rite Catholic priests are married as well. My own take on celibacy is the same as the good father's. In the middle ages, bishops wanted to make sure that a priest's worldly goods went to the church, not a priest's wife and children, so clerical celibacy was imposed. And to give the church a point, there were some problems involving nepotism.

• SeamusMartin | Jan 23, 2012, 11:03 AM EST

  allen500, we know the first pope of Rome, Peter, was married. Regarding Paul,one can only assume Paul won eternal salvation, but God didn't bestow sainthood upon him -- the church hierarchy did. We do know that for 600 some years ago the RCC decided in its infinite wisdom to make celibecy mandatory. My Godfather and Uncle, "Fr. Tom", had many a discussion regarding the church and "rules". He told me that there were two reasons for the celibecy decree: 1) so the priest's worldly possessions, money included, would go to the church, not a family. 2) The priest was, in a sense, married to the church and all his time and energy was to be spent on her (church) behalf. "Fr. Tom" never expressed his own opinion on the celibecy, but I do know he had a housekeeper (female) whom accopanied him to three different parishes during his sixty-five years in the priesthood. It's high time the RCC ended the manditory practice celibecy. The priesthood is long in the tooth and dying out. They won't get enough new recruits unlwss changes are made soon!

• racallahan | Jan 23, 2012, 11:02 AM EST

  @ Allen500...it is interesting that you bring up Paul as we are all members of "his" church.

• Murph46 | Jan 23, 2012, 10:41 AM EST

  They will be allowed to marry 11 year old altar boys!

• forflann | Jan 23, 2012, 10:38 AM EST

  In the early church priest were allowed to marry. I know someone with more knowledge of history will comment the exact date of the edict of prohibition, but I think it must have been about the time of the Council of Nicea. It's a shame, too, as there would not be a shortage of men going into the priesthood now. Other Christian faiths allow marriage, and most ministers come from the families of these ministers, as Rev. Billy Graham's children.

• CitizenWhy | Jan 23, 2012, 10:30 AM EST

  In the top down Catholic Church no priest is "leading." He's a subordinate, a bottom guy, sworn to follow orders. His personal opinions are no concern to the church bosses, except to suppress them. ... Yes, celibacy was imposed for business reasons, tio keep priests from leaving church property to their legitimate children, but since the the imposition celibacy as a requirement has been propped up with theological arguments that make it "necessary" and the "will of God" and "unchangeable" by the church (that is, too embarrassing to admit to the error). This is what always happens with practical decisions in churches. Churches turn God into a weapon.

• lambopolis | Jan 23, 2012, 10:29 AM EST

  Actually, I have it on good authority that the Vatican is poised to bring back concubinage in the very near future. Perhaps as early as next week, all seminarians will be ordered to commence relationships with multiple females in preparation for the surprise election of the first female pope (possibly one of the rebel US nuns who publicly supported Barack Obama's policies on abortion.) My best friend is a sonar operator on the Vatican's nuclear submarine "Anselm," so he is even more intimately familiar with the strategic discussions of Rome's decision-makers than is your source - who, as it happens, has lived for decades in the tropical boondocks roughly 10,600 kilometers away from St. Peter's Square.

• faberm1 | Jan 23, 2012, 10:14 AM EST

  Celibacy is not a Biblical requisite AT ALL for being a priest or minister of the Gospel. NONE of the scriptures which deal with the requirments to be in leadership say nothing more than such people should "be the husband of one wife". Makes you even wonder if being married might be required. Early Ireland did not practice celebacy in the priesthood. Romanism imposed this on God's people in Ireland. If the Roman Catholic Church doesn't abandon this unbiblical requirement, it will continue to be plagued with the many distortions and abuses that come with denying the basic need on men and women.

• allan500 | Jan 23, 2012, 09:59 AM EST

  Fr. Cullen may be a champion for rights in the Philippines and more power to him for that, but his understanding of celibacy is unenlightened, unhistorical and perhaps motivated by pride. Father forgets that St. Paul was a great champion of celibacy. One wonders whether Paul was a great landowner as well as his. Of course St. Paul wasn't nominated for the awards Fr, Cullen was, but he did win the big one of eternal salvation and God's saint.