Conservative Lay British Catholics Favor Married Priests

Source: https://catholicherald.co.uk/issues/november-17th-2017/the-unlikely-champions-of-married-priests

The retired Conservative politician Ann Widdecombe is no one’s idea of a liberation theologian. But she supports married priests. “In this country, hundreds of Anglican priests have crossed over to Rome and stayed married, whereas a Catholic priest must choose between marrying and his vocation,” she told me. “But I don’t think we should lift the celibacy rule wholesale. That would cause a lot of division. What the Pope should do, rather, is leave it to the archbishops and let it be decided on a case-by-case basis.”

Damian Thompson, editor-in-chief of the Catholic Herald, agrees. “A vocation to celibacy isn’t the same thing as a vocation to the priesthood,” he observes. “We already recognise that by ordaining married men who belong to Eastern Rite churches or were previously Anglican clergy.”

He hopes that married priests would solve more problems than just the vocations crisis.

“This is a delicate point,” Thompson says, “but I think the ban on marriage lies behind the dramatic over-representation of gay priests in parts of the West. Although most of these men lead faithful celibate lives, and I’m horrified by attempts to exclude gay men from seminaries, shouldn’t we address this imbalance?”

Then there are pastoral concerns.

“This is my main point,” says Thompson. “I know married Catholic men who would make outstanding priests. Ending compulsory celibacy would be a radical step but ultimately a far safer one than allowing women deacons, which would inevitably lead to schism.”

Lord Alton of Liverpool, one of Britain’s foremost Catholic laymen, also cites the Eastern Churches, most of which have never required their priests to remain celibate. “I have travelled in many jurisdictions where, for centuries, Greek Catholic and other Rites, in full communion with Rome, have married priests who faithfully serve their communities,” says the leading pro-life champion. “So, Pope Francis is acting in accordance with precedent and current practice in suggesting that diocesan bishops may base their decision on pastoral needs.”