But the provision for married clergy, which the Catholic church has made on a limited basis since at least the 1980s, remains a qualified one. Only unmarried men will be eligible to serve as bishops in the new dioceses, the Vatican said, consistent with a “long historical tradition” in both the Catholic and Orthodox churches.
Other details of the new rules remain unclear pending their still-unscheduled publication, but Cardinal William Levada, head of the Vatican’s doctrinal office, suggested on Tuesday that the new dioceses will not ordain married men unless they have already started their preparation in Anglican seminaries, or permit unmarried priests to take wives after ordination.
For some potential converts, those qualifications are a deal breaker.
“I find the lack of a permanent provision for a married priesthood to be a serious obstacle to unity,” said Anglican Bishop Jack Iker of Fort Worth, who has considered joining the Catholic church in the past.
Ah, at last someone has answered my question. Cardinal Levada suggests that the current crop of married priests will be the last in this new structure. Thanks for finding and posting this.
I see nothing in this that anyone should be surprised by. What I do find curious – at least in the blogs that have targeted the issue of priestly / episcopal celibacy – is the apparent ruffled feathers that indicate this issue as a sticking point.
I wonder if there is not a real deficit in understanding going around as to what it means to be be called to such roles in ministry? What I gather when I see such reactions is an apparent view of ordained ministry that is bent on viewing it as an entitlement. Is a seminarian to stick up his nose at ordained ministry because if he is married or would like to be he “can’t” be a Bishop? That is ridiculous. Being and Anglican or Roman Bishop – or priest for that matter – is not something one can or should view as that which individual “calls” himself to. That is a non-starter for real ministry and reflects a consumeristic entitlement about the Church that has only served to hurt it over the years.