Fr. Hunwicke explores the question with some compelling answers, HERE and HERE. (Via Serge)
I acknowledge and accept that it has long been a practice of our Eastern Christian brethren to ordain married men to the priesthood. However, those in the Latin rite who think that having a married priesthood is going to automatically solve all of our problems should read what Fr. Hunwicke has to say.
All I know is what I have seen myself, a few in my own family, and that is that married preachers, often those who are the best preachers, have the most ill-behaved children of anyone. It's evidently widespread enough to even have it's own name; "preacher's daughter syndrome". Again, all those I have known myself were very good men, very good Christian ministers, but their children have always been out of control. Just what I've seen myself.
ReplyDeleteThere are pros and cons to everything, but in the past every time the Laity thought they knew more than Mother Church, it has caused problems.
ReplyDeleteWhile our Eastern Catholic brethren do ordain married men to the priesthood it's important to remember that:
ReplyDeletea) they're married before ordination;
b) they can't get remarried;
c) bishops are always unmarried;
d) the tradition in the US is for Eastern Catholic priests to be unmarried, celibate priests, though there are some married priests who were ordained in other countries.