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Home Page > News > Nine out of ten Irish Catholics believe priests should be allowed to marry - POLL

Nine out of ten Irish Catholics believe priests should be allowed to marry - POLL

Majority also approve of gay marriage and want married women priests

CATHY HAYES,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Friday, April 13, 2012, 7:36 AM

Updated Friday, April 13, 2012, 11:19 AM

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The Rev. Bart Stevens stands in Little Flower Church with his wife and three of his five children, from left Zelie, Soren, and Charles. Stevens, a former Episcopalian priest, he was ordained a Catholic priest in December 2010

Photo by billingsgazette.com

IrishCentral.com Poll

Research, commissioned by the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP), in Ireland, has found that a large majority of Irish Catholics want women and married priests, liberal clergymen and support gay marriage.

Father Tony Flannery, one of the ACPs founding members, was recently silenced by the Vatican for voicing his liberal views, in the religious publication Reality. The 800-strong association says they have the Irish public’s support to start an open dialogue with Pope Benedict. The association has said it has a mandate from Irish Mass-goes to raise their concerns about the disconnect between the Church’s teachings and what Catholics believe.

According to the association’s survey:
- nine out of ten Catholics believe priests should be allowed to marry
-77 percent of Irish Catholics believe that women should be ordained as priests
- 75 percent did not see that the Church’s teaching on sexuality were relevant
-60 percent disagreed with the Catholic Church’s stance “that any sexual expression of love between gay couples is immoral”

The survey, carried out by Amarach Research, was taken over a two-week period this February, in the north and south of Ireland. Of the participants 35 percent attend Mass once a week, 51 percent go once a month and only five percent never attend.

Father Brendan Hoban, from the ACP, said the association believes in the fundamental teachings of the Catholic Church and are no planning a breakaway from Rome.

He told the Irish Independent “We are not dissident priests. There are not 815 dissident priests.
"We are reflecting what we are hearing in parishes and have heard in parishes for years."
Their survey puts statistics behind anecdotal evidence. Their parishioners have made it clear they want change in the Vatican.

The ACP said its all-Ireland survey put statistics behind anecdotal evidence that parishioners want change from the heart of Rome.

Referring to the Vatican’s silencing of Flannery who was sent to spend six weeks in a monastery for spiritual and theological reflection.

Hoban said “We think it's not the way the church should go about doing its business.
"There are differences and there are problems and I think the way to face them is not by silencing the messengers, but teasing out what the message is.

"We are disturbed by that sort of blunt kind of reason to questions we are asking."

The Mayo parish priest said the real problems in Ireland’s Catholic Church will come when their aging clergy has retired, in about 20 years time.

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SingleDonald | Apr 17, 2012, 10:30 PM EDT

I agree with the majority in all 4 questions in the survey, especially # 3. As to # 4, while I am against gay marriage, I don't believe that "any sexual expression of love between gay couples is immoral". I have to consider that homosexuals & lesbians are born with their orientation, just as I was born heterosexual. I can imagine a "parallel world" where gay was the norm, and straight was perverted. Would I stop liking girls?-Of course not! However, I believe that marriage is properly an institution between 1 man and 1 woman. Civil Unions are fine, for gay couples. Those survey answers, I feel, would be similar, here in the U.S.A.

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ciaradexy | Apr 14, 2012, 02:21 PM EDT

Murph46, good point on the paedo priests.

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STEVENSTAR | Apr 14, 2012, 11:14 AM EDT

I WISH THEY WOULD DO A SURVEY AS TO HOW MANY IRISH CATHOLICS LIKE AMERICANS OR BETTER STILL AMERICANS TRYING TO BE IRISH... I DONT THINK THE STATS WOULD BE AS HIGH haha!!!

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IrelandNorth | Apr 14, 2012, 06:14 AM EDT

Did Amarach (Tomorrow) Research not survey people in the east [Leinster] and west [Connacht] of Ireland, as well as north [Ulster] and south [Munster]? If the 'faithful' of the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church (HRC&AC) only conditionally be[lie]ve the Churches' dogma/doctrine, (i.e are a la carte or cafeteria Catholics), does that not mean they are not officially RC, thereby nullifying the research? That is, Roman Catholics are what the HRC&AC dic[k]tate. What people 'be[lie]ve' (sic) is largely irrelevant. What they know is far more important. Children be[lie]ve in Santa Clause and tooth fairies, largely at the insistence of their silly parents. Does that mean they exist? Ironically - yes! The more people be[lie]ve anything, the more they will it into existence. Be[lie]f is premature knowledge. Sadly, it is also deductive subjectivity in epistomologically terms. Be[lie]fs are an impediment to authentic spirituality. What do the IACP be[lie]ve?

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Collette2 | Apr 14, 2012, 12:38 AM EDT

Look at all the "defects" of birth that would be diminished. I'm sure Mike Cleary wishes it was so in his day, so too Bishop what's his name who was sent off to Africa for R&R, I wonder if there are any 'little bishops' left behind there. We would never know, at least Michael was faithful.

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faberm1 | Apr 13, 2012, 11:52 PM EDT

This is a change long overdue. It's time to get the church back to operating according to the Bible.

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Murph46 | Apr 13, 2012, 09:30 PM EDT

KatieMurphy if you are crazy enough to think that marriage would stop pedophile priests,you need counseling.They are two totally distinct categories ,but don't dare to confuse the two.There are enough problems already.

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KatieMurphy | Apr 13, 2012, 05:36 PM EDT

Just recently there was a big flap over the german pope saying never neve never re priests marrying. One would think that given the propensity of unmarried priest to rape children he would change his mind..........................In the old days they called altsheimers disease "hardening of the arteries". Now we know better about the apprent cause, but it sure sounds like Pope Bennie has a hardening of the arteries and hardening of the heart......................May he live long and a long papacy. Its obvious he was sent by God to destroy the Islamic like church of the west. hates gays, hates birth control, absolute truths etc etc.

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eiriamach | Apr 13, 2012, 04:34 PM EDT

It's a mistake to assume that a married priest would try to transfer church property to his family or that his parish would have the burden of supporting his wife and children. Among the ECUSA male priests I've known, their wives have careers and have bought homes in which to raise their children. The wives make more money than their priest-husbands. But, I suppose, wives of Catholic priests might be perennially pregnant unless the RC Church changes its teaching on contraception!

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Nicomax | Apr 13, 2012, 03:48 PM EDT

I suppose you could make the case that the Church is not much different than the Augusta National Club, and can choose who they want as part of their membership. Of course, the Vatican wants as many women members as possible, but not as priests, bishops, etc. The hypocrisy of allowing married Anglicans in while claiming marriage is a detriment to pastoral duties says it all for me.

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PhlutiePhan | Apr 13, 2012, 03:24 PM EDT

There is no doubt that the married priesthood should be considered more strongly. There has to be some paperwork done ahead of time. If you think that the divorce proceedings involving the Los Angeles Dodgers got to be messy, what about if it involved the Archdiocese of Los Angeles? The Orthodox allows marriage for a deacon. Once he is ordained, it is not allowed. You just cannot be out there chasing women if you are the pastor. What is holding it up? Now, there have maneuvered into places of authority gay priests and lesbian nuns. That is the holdup. They want the entire "cup of tea" where marriage is "spread around the shop". Bernardin ensured the turmoil with his outlandish concept of the "seemless garment". Now, gays have a foothold and want the entire basket of fruit.

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SeamusMor | Apr 13, 2012, 02:06 PM EDT

The Church is not a democracy run by politicians and polls. Although it may be entertaining for some to note the results of polls of public opinion, but they will have as much effect on Church teachings as they might on the weather. Nine out of ten people indicating a preference for sunny days will not stop the rain!

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phinsman | Apr 13, 2012, 11:55 AM EDT

I completely agree that priests should be allowed to be married, and women should be allowed to be ordained as priests, too. From what I learned in College about the enactment of celibacy is that originally priests were allowed to be married and have children. The Church was a thousand years old before it definitively took a stand in favor of celibacy in the twelfth century at the Second Lateran Council held in 1139. This was because the Roman Catholic Church wanted to keep all the wealth within their religion... not allowing priests to pass along their wealth to their family when they passed away.

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Towngate | Apr 13, 2012, 10:57 AM EDT

All this fuss is caused by the God's Clerk making a few spelling mistakes when taking down His Commandments. (spelcheckir hadn't been created yet!) ~ "What'll I put down for Sex? - says he. God said "Celebrate"; but the fool mis-heard and left out the 'r'. The same happened when he described Satan! The clown got his 'l' and 'n' mixed up and put Cult!

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snakehips | Apr 13, 2012, 10:55 AM EDT

OK, Let's analyze this. I bet "the farm" that if a similar survey was conducted in the US, the remainder of Western Europe and Australia,the results would be the same if not with higher percentages.Africa, South and Central America and other places in the world where third world countries exist may be different as the populance in these countries probably don't have the sophistication as of yet, to see the hypocrisy and con games promulgated by the Roman Church. Why are Episcopal priests who have wives and children allowed to become Catholic priests because of their opposing views with the Episcopal(Anglican) Church? That is; because of their homophopic and anti-women views that they share with the Roman Church. What kind of spirituality does that reflect? Shouldn't these priests be celibate as well, based on the Roman Church's rationale for single clergy? Why is the Roman Church so adament about the evils of homosexual expression when the Roman Catholic Priesthood is one of the most obvious homosexual cultures on earth? Finally, in an world economy where people in all walks of life want to raise their children in a wholesome lifestyle without having an unmanageable brood of children, does the Roman Church want to govern what goes on in folks' bedrooms? The days of the Roman Church's need to ignore the cares and needs of Roman Catholics are coming to an end. The folks who blindly accept the Roman Church's nonsense are in their 70's, 80's and 90's. They soon will be gone and then the money and the blind obedience will no longer exist. May God, who is probably despondent over what these idiots have done to his Church, help these pathetic bastards.

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