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Bishop to ordain married men as priests by 2028
- Written by: Alex Walker
Download: Belgian bishop says he will make every effort to ordain married men by 2028
A Belgian Catholic bishop said he “will make every effort to ordain married men as priests” and expressed his commitment to doing so by 2028.
In a pastoral letter published March 19, Bishop Johan Bonny of Antwerp wrote that the question is “no longer whether” married men can be ordained, but “when” and “who will do it.”
“I will make every effort to ordain married men as priests for our diocese by 2028,” Bishop Bonny said. “I will approach them personally and ensure that by then they have the necessary theological training and pastoral experience, comparable to that of other priest candidates.”
Can a priest who resigns return to active ministry?
- Written by: Catholics Online
✝️CAN A PRIEST WHO LEFT THE PRIESTHOOD RETURN TO ACTIVE MINISTRY? 😲🤔
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This is a question many of you asked after our recent post on how “a priest is a priest forever.”
Let’s answer it clearly, with Church teaching, canon law, and love for the mystery of Holy Orders.
✝️ First, the Theology:
Even if a man leaves active ministry… Even if he is dispensed from priestly duties… Even if he is no longer called “Father”…
👉 He is still a priest forever.
Why?
Because the Sacrament of Holy Orders leaves an indelible spiritual character, a mark on the soul that can never be erased. Just like Baptism and Confirmation, Holy Orders configures the soul forever to Christ.
✝️ The Bible says it:
“You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 7:17)
✝️ The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms:
“Holy Orders confers an indelible spiritual character and cannot be repeated or conferred temporarily.” (CCC 1582)
Even a laicized priest, one who has been returned to the lay state, remains a priest ontologically.
He may no longer wear the collar or preach publicly, but in danger of death, he can still validly absolve sins (Canon 976). The mark of Christ’s priesthood remains forever.
✝️ But Can He Return to Ministry?
Yes. Canon Law allows for it.
Let’s break it down.
Canon 293 of the Code of Canon Law says:
“A cleric who has lost the clerical state… may not be readmitted to the clerical state except through the decision of the Apostolic See.”
In other words, a priest can return to ministry, but only with permission from the Vatican, usually through the Dicastery for the Clergy (formerly the Congregation for the Clergy).
This requires:
1. A formal petition to the Holy See
2. The bishop’s or religious superior’s recommendation
3. Careful discernment about the circumstances that led to his departure
4. A prudent evaluation of the pastoral good of the Church and the priest’s readiness 🙏
So while it's not automatic, it is very possible. The Church, like the merciful Father in the story of the Prodigal Son, always leaves the door open, but with wisdom and spiritual responsibility.
✝️ Also Worth Knowing:
Canon 290: “Sacred ordination, once validly received, never becomes invalid.”
Canon 291: Laicization typically includes dispensation from celibacy. If the priest returns, that dispensation is revoked.
Canon 976: In danger of death, any priest, even laicized or suspended, can absolve sins.
✝️ So:
Yes, a priest who has left can come back. But it must be through Rome.
Because even after stepping aside from ministry, he still carries the sacred mark of priesthood, an alter Christus, a living sign of Christ the High Priest.
Let us pray for all priests:
🙏 Those in ministry,
🙏 Those who have stepped aside,
🙏 And those discerning whether to return.
They carry a mystery the world does not see, a mystery that never fades.
God bless you 🙏
#CatholicsOnlineClass
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DPMSG6L9x/
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Letter to the Irish Times on Compulsory Celibacy
- Written by: Alex Walker
Letter to the Editor
The Irish Times
28 December 2025
Celibacy and Catholic Church
Sir, – I fully support William Reville’s letter (December 23rd) calling for the abolition of compulsory celibacy as a condition for priestly ministry in the Catholic Church.
It wouldn’t solve all the problems facing this beleaguered institution, but it would inject some badly needed new life and energy into it.
In the absence of any hope of a move towards women’s equality, this step would, albeit indirectly, introduce some female presence and influence into ministry.
There is little sign of the Vatican making a move on this, or indeed on anything else to do with ministry. They seem to be incapable of moving on anything that does not get support from the whole Church, and that means that all decisions are made by the most traditional and reactionary units in the Church.
The only way forward that I can see is for individual units to begin to take independent action.
It would be wonderful if the leadership of the Irish Church began to move on this, by first inviting those men who left the priesthood due to the celibacy rule, and who are willing, to come back into ministry.
There is no doubt that would be widely welcomed in the Irish Church as a whole. Then it would need to be followed by the ordination of married men.
It would be important for the Irish Church not to ask permission from the Vatican for this action, but to politely inform them.
What exactly could they do to us? And it would set a great headline for other units within the Church. – Yours, etc,
TONY FLANNERY,
Newport,
Co Tipperary.
Catholics have married priests now!
- Written by: Alex Walker
✨𝐃𝐈𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐃 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐒? ✨
(A Truth Many Protestants Don’t Expect to Hear)
When some Protestants argue that the Catholic Church “forbids priests to marry” and therefore fulfills the prophecy of 1 Timothy 4:1–3 (“forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats”), they usually don’t realize one important reality:
👉 The Catholic Church actually HAS married priests — right now.
Not historically… but today.
Let’s break this open. 👇
1. 𝘾𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙮 𝙄𝙨 𝙖 𝘿𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 (𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝘿𝙤𝙘𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙚) — 𝙊𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣 𝙍𝙞𝙩𝙚
The Catholic Church is made up of 24 rites.
Only ONE of them — the Latin (Roman) Rite — requires priestly celibacy as a discipline.
A discipline:
✔ is changeable
✔ is practical, not doctrinal
✔ is chosen, not forced
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