Time to end celibacy for priests as Catholic Church crisis continues

@SingleDonald, who says **If I were elected Pope... yadda, yadda...** His whole post, in other words, can be reduced to 'let's create a church in my image and likeness... the teachings and example of Jesus Chrise be DA**ED!' -- HornyDonald... the chances you might be elected Pope so far are hovering around... zilch, nil, none, rien, nicht, nada, niente and, flat out, not even in your dreams!!!

@SingleDonald, who says **If I were elected Pope... yadda, yadda...** His whole post, in other words, can be reduced to 'let's create a church in my image and likeness... the teachings and example of Jesus Chrise be DA**ED!' -- HornyDonald... the chances you might be elected Pope so far are hovering around... zilch, nil, none, rien, nicht, nada, niente and, flat out, not even in your dreams!!!

@Chris1791; Christian tradition holds that 11 of the 12 Apostles (first bishops) were married; only John the Evangelist was celibate.Jesus could have chosen 12 celibate persons but did not do so. 1 Timothy 3:1-5 says a "...bishop should be married but once." 1 Corinthians 9:4-5 says it is a right for apostles to marry like Peter (1st Pope). I have known European and American married missionaries in the far out-back in Africa and Latin America whose families have been in service there for several generations. (Kids go back to Europe or USA for University and return). Priests who marry do not find their marriage an obstacle to ministry if their first ministry is to their wives (2nd to children)and they are ministering together as a ministry team. This is what we include in the formation program for our Eastern Catholic married priests and yes, it does work. Blessings!

@cillowen - I dont know where you have been for the past few years but it would seem that we have all that you describe in the church already, and have had for some time; ex-oficio of course :)!!

LETS NOT FORGET THAT ITS NOT ONLY PRIESTS WHO ARE ABUSING CHILDREN THIS IS A UNVERSAL PROBLEM.. THERE ARE MARRIED MEN OUT THERE ABUSING CHILDREN BOTH LITTLE BOYS AND GIRLS ALSO AND THERE ARE ALSO SINGLE MEN WHO ABUSE KIDS..THESE PEOPLE ARE FAMILY MEMBERS RELATIVES, NEIGHBORS AND NOT JUST PRIESTS.. THERE IS AN EVIL IN THE WORLD WHICH MAKES THESE SICK EVIL PEOPLE BOTH MALE AND FEMALE DO THESE EVIL SICK THINGS.. THERE IS EVIL RIGHT ACROSS THE BOARD BE THEY WOMEN, MEN, GAY STRAIGHT MARRIED OR SINGLE.... SO KEEP THAT IN MIND BEFORE YOU GO AND TRY AND POINT THE FINGER AT A SECTION OF SOCIETY THAT YOU MAY NOT PERSONALLY LIKE.. AS ITS THE CHILDREN IS WHAT REALLY MATTER AND NOT YOUR OWN PERSONAL VIEWS...ALL PEDOPHILES ARE SICK EVIL PEOPLE AND SHOULD BE ROOTED OUT OF ALL SECTIONS OF SOCIETY... AND IF ITS HAPPENING IN THE CHURCH ITS ALL AROUND US.

pilib04 | Mar 01, 2013, 05:32 PM EST It's always about men. No one has ever considered the possibility of WOMENPRIESTS. Womenpriests make sense in every possible way. They address the issue of full participation of women in our liturgy and church. The real ending of Sexism in the Catholic Church. The end of the male hierarchy in the Catholic Church. The end of 2000 years of Misogyny (women hating) in the Catholic Church. With Womenpriests we would all but eliminate the rapes of boys by priests, something that a married clergy WILL NOT do.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>WHEN I READ YOU IGNORANT COMMENT I JUST THOUGHT I HAD TO ASK YOU .. DO YOU REALLY THINK THE MARRIED CLERGY WOULD NOT ABUSE LITTLE CHILDREN BOYS OR GIRLS YOU SILLY WOMAN ?? A PEDOPHILE IS A PEDOPHILE BE HE MARRIED OR SINGLE BE HE GAY OR STRAIGHT.. AND PLEASE DO NOT IGNORE THE HUGE AMOUNT OF MARRIED MEN OUT THERE WHO HAVE WIVES AND FAMILIES AND ARE MARRIED AND WHO STILL GO AND SEXUALLY ABUSE THEIR OWN CHILDREN OR OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS.. I FIND YOUR NARROW MINDED LITTLE COMMENT THAT IF THE PRIESTS WERE ALLOWED TO MARRY WOMEN THIS WOULD ALL STOP ... WHAT AN IGNORANT LITTLE PERSON YOU ARE !!

Priests should be free to leave and married, but married priests? No. The parishioners don't want to pay for Juniors dental bills or college tuition....but priest from say age 22-30 and then switch to deacon, sure.

Would'nt the sons or daughters of MARRIED Priests make better future Priests than others, and could I insert into any arguements 'the wasted sperm theory', meaning how many wonderful people has the world lost because their fathers and mothers were not allowed to marry and have families? I won't bother trying to find a list of famous people whoese father was a Vicar or Chruch Minister as the list would be too long to be allowed on this forum. Just a passing thought to share .........

What a sad person Cillowen must be. He may be a priest flouting his twisted logic on this site.

celibicy is against nature,as a descendant of apes the need to reproduce is natural,but in the world of theology or christian theology that urge was supposed to be submerged,controlled,sublimated by love of god,the temptations of the flesh negated.Not a great deal of evidence that that was practised either in the past or present,Whats happened in the church is rotten beond belief and the rot was from the top down with NO no leadership or condemnation displayed,worse than corrupt,and its why so many turned from it and will continue to turn untill it cleans and redeems itself,there is positively no place in the church for peodphile priests.

True that celibacy is a disciplinary regulation and not church doctrine but I don't see how eliminating it will improve things. A child abuser is a child abuser whether married or not. Better scrutiny in seminaries and transparency when abusers are found is the better way to deal with this horrible situation.

SingleDonald, go raibh maith agat.

Maureen Hawkins makes a number of important points here. I would like to add that some historians claim that first missionaries to Ireland were not Europeans but rather Assyrian or Chaldean Christians who brought with them the pristine Christian faith and practice which allowed for both married and celibate clergy, just as the Eastern Church allows up to today. While the Church of the East does not have women priests, it still has active Deaconesses who preach, teach, baptize and administer.

Maureen - very well said! Thank you.

would you like seeing priests snotty nose brats running about the church while moomy is doing her thing with other actors be they ac or dc.