01/09/02
Catholic bishop backs end to celibacy ruling
http://www.scotlandonsunday.com/index.cfm?id=971762002
STEPHEN FRASER
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A SCOTTISH bishop has called for the Catholic Church to look at admitting married men to the ranks of the priesthood to solve its recruitment crisis.
Bishop of Galloway Maurice Taylor said he feared a growing shortage of priests in Europe and central America was making it impossible for many Catholics to attend mass.
While he believed existing priests should remain celibate, the church should consider allowing married men to take up the cloth and continue having a sexual relationship with their spouses after ordination, he said.
Taylor's intervention will be welcomed by many liberal members of the church, but it has caused consternation among conservative groups who said they had "profound objections" to the idea.
But Taylor insists the Catholic Church is facing a major dilemma. "To me we are being faced with a question. What is more important, to allow people a better chance of getting to mass on Sunday or to keep priests celibate?" he said.
"If the current rules are helping to prevent Catholics from getting to go to mass, or will do so in future, then I would be willing to see the rules relaxed to allow married men to become priests."
He also criticised the church's handling of cases of abuse by priests, particularly in the US, Ireland and England.
This was discouraging people from joining the priesthood and even making priests embarrassed to encourage new recruits, he said.
"When people look at priests they don't forget about the abuse scandals, how dreadful they are and how badly they've been handled. Priests are embarrassed and ashamed about that and they feel a certain amount of rejection on the part of the public."
However, the 76-year-old bishop, who is fighting cancer and is expected to retire later this year, says existing priests should remain celibate.
"I would say there is considerable value in the obligation of celibacy so I don't consider it is an unreasonable obligation to ask of single men," he said. "But I want to see a public debate on these questions so the church can talk things through now rather than later on."
The Scottish Catholic Church has 900 priests, to lead services for the country's estimated 800,000 Catholic population. This is down from 1,195 in 1981, with many priests expected to retire in the next decade.
In England, around 200 married priests from the church of England were allowed to join the Catholic Church in 1998 in protest at the Anglican ordination of women, because of "exceptional circumstances".
Taylor said their presence was a sign that the Catholic Church could tolerate married clergy, although he admitted the current Pope, John Paul II, was unlikely to countenance the ordination of married men.
"There quite possibly could be this kind of change further down the line," the bishop predicted. But his comments were given a lukewarm reception by his fellow priests.
Archbishop Keith O'Brien, the president of the Scottish Bishops Conference, said: "Ultimately, each bishop is entitled to his own views on this subject which is a matter of discipline not doctrine ."
While O'Brien described Taylor's view as a "thoughtful contribution" to the debate, he insisted clerical celibacy still had enormous value.
Archbishop Mario Conti, from the diocese of Glasgow, said he did not want to comment. But Ronnie MacDonald, a spokesman for the traditionalist group Catholic Truth, described Taylor as a liberal who was ignoring the Pope, as the pontiff had recently restated the value of a celibate single priesthood.
MacDonald said: "We have profound and pragmatic objections to the idea of married priests. On the spiritual side, the love of God in a priest should be all-embracing and all-consuming, so the priest can be a beacon for Catholic people."
"Married men have obligations to their wives and families and that must detract from the duties expected of a priest. He must devote all his energy to the service of God."
A celibate life
THE scriptural authority for celibacy lies in the New Testament which states "family ties" should be renounced for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven.
In the early church, celibacy was up to priests. However, Pope Gregory VII made celibacy compulsory in the 11th century.
Over the centuries the rule began to be flouted. Priests in the Scottish Episcopal Church were known to have wives in the 15th century, while the 16th-century Reformation swept away the Catholic rules.
The Church of Scotland allows its ministers to marry, while in England, celibacy survived the formation of the Church of England by Henry VIII but was ditched by his successor, Edward VI.
Although the Vatican insists on celibacy, there are churches which are part of the international Catholic church that allow their priests to marry.
Catholic bishop backs end to celibacy ruling
http://www.scotlandonsunday.com/index.cfm?id=971762002
STEPHEN FRASER
A SCOTTISH bishop has called for the Catholic Church to look at admitting married men to the ranks of the priesthood to solve its recruitment crisis.
Bishop of Galloway Maurice Taylor said he feared a growing shortage of priests in Europe and central America was making it impossible for many Catholics to attend mass.
While he believed existing priests should remain celibate, the church should consider allowing married men to take up the cloth and continue having a sexual relationship with their spouses after ordination, he said.
Taylor's intervention will be welcomed by many liberal members of the church, but it has caused consternation among conservative groups who said they had "profound objections" to the idea.
But Taylor insists the Catholic Church is facing a major dilemma. "To me we are being faced with a question. What is more important, to allow people a better chance of getting to mass on Sunday or to keep priests celibate?" he said.
"If the current rules are helping to prevent Catholics from getting to go to mass, or will do so in future, then I would be willing to see the rules relaxed to allow married men to become priests."
He also criticised the church's handling of cases of abuse by priests, particularly in the US, Ireland and England.
This was discouraging people from joining the priesthood and even making priests embarrassed to encourage new recruits, he said.
"When people look at priests they don't forget about the abuse scandals, how dreadful they are and how badly they've been handled. Priests are embarrassed and ashamed about that and they feel a certain amount of rejection on the part of the public."
However, the 76-year-old bishop, who is fighting cancer and is expected to retire later this year, says existing priests should remain celibate.
"I would say there is considerable value in the obligation of celibacy so I don't consider it is an unreasonable obligation to ask of single men," he said. "But I want to see a public debate on these questions so the church can talk things through now rather than later on."
The Scottish Catholic Church has 900 priests, to lead services for the country's estimated 800,000 Catholic population. This is down from 1,195 in 1981, with many priests expected to retire in the next decade.
In England, around 200 married priests from the church of England were allowed to join the Catholic Church in 1998 in protest at the Anglican ordination of women, because of "exceptional circumstances".
Taylor said their presence was a sign that the Catholic Church could tolerate married clergy, although he admitted the current Pope, John Paul II, was unlikely to countenance the ordination of married men.
"There quite possibly could be this kind of change further down the line," the bishop predicted. But his comments were given a lukewarm reception by his fellow priests.
Archbishop Keith O'Brien, the president of the Scottish Bishops Conference, said: "Ultimately, each bishop is entitled to his own views on this subject which is a matter of discipline not doctrine ."
While O'Brien described Taylor's view as a "thoughtful contribution" to the debate, he insisted clerical celibacy still had enormous value.
Archbishop Mario Conti, from the diocese of Glasgow, said he did not want to comment. But Ronnie MacDonald, a spokesman for the traditionalist group Catholic Truth, described Taylor as a liberal who was ignoring the Pope, as the pontiff had recently restated the value of a celibate single priesthood.
MacDonald said: "We have profound and pragmatic objections to the idea of married priests. On the spiritual side, the love of God in a priest should be all-embracing and all-consuming, so the priest can be a beacon for Catholic people."
"Married men have obligations to their wives and families and that must detract from the duties expected of a priest. He must devote all his energy to the service of God."
A celibate life
THE scriptural authority for celibacy lies in the New Testament which states "family ties" should be renounced for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven.
In the early church, celibacy was up to priests. However, Pope Gregory VII made celibacy compulsory in the 11th century.
Over the centuries the rule began to be flouted. Priests in the Scottish Episcopal Church were known to have wives in the 15th century, while the 16th-century Reformation swept away the Catholic rules.
The Church of Scotland allows its ministers to marry, while in England, celibacy survived the formation of the Church of England by Henry VIII but was ditched by his successor, Edward VI.
Although the Vatican insists on celibacy, there are churches which are part of the international Catholic church that allow their priests to marry.