It looks as if Archbishop Milingo simply won’t go gently into that good night. The Movement for Married Priests (let’s call it MMP for short), founded by the excommunicated Abp. Emmanuel Milingo, is picking up some popularity in the largest growth area for Catholicism, Africa. The Zambia Chapter of the MMP has held a rally in which it calls for all priests, who are secretly married, to come out of the closet and renounce priestly celibacy. Apparently there is a huge DaVinci-esque plot by the Catholic Church to conceal the marital status of her priests and even more heinously practicing priestly conscription!
Though one will not hear a great deal about married Roman Catholic priests the truth is that they do exist. Some estimates place their number at around 20 per cent of all Roman Catholic priests in the world. This would mean that 20 per cent of all Roman Catholic priests are officially and legally married, even though celibacy continues to be a requirement.
Wow, I wonder how many of those “20 per cent” are priests who converted from other religions that do permit marriage? To be honest, I don’t envy those priests who are “validly” married. The conflicts they must suffer and the double weight of their crosses must be incredible.
No doubt, the next papal conclave to elect a new pope (many years from now I pray) will have the media, quack factions and emotionally sensitive theorists postulating on priestly celibacy, female priests (which the Holy Father CANNOT change) and maybe even drive thru service for Communion.
Back to the MMP (yes, “quack faction”). I particularly like this quote;
“Excommunicating Milingo was the biggest mistake Vatican made because they have made him more stronger, this can only be compared to what happened when they expelled Martin Luther King in 1520. They elevated Martin Luther to be the founder of the Protestant movement. Vatican has given Milingo power to establish a new version of the Catholic Church.” Father Mbewe charged.
I wonder if the good Fr Mbewe was aware that Milingo and his cohorts (the guys he ordained) excommunicated themselves latae sententiae under 1983 CIC 1382?
Sancta Dei Genitrix, ora pro nobis.
Source [http://allafrica.com/stories/200708090067.html]
By Extra Frate
this makes me sick to my stomach…..
If priests could marry, perhaps the Church would cease to be a safe haven for those men who have various issues with their sexuality.
Ave Maria!
Tomie,
Actually I would lump the prevailing lack of appreciation of celibacy (as well as chastity) in our society as the same moral problem of people not restraining themselves in the more heinous transgressions that you refer to as “issues with their sexuality.??? Both are a lack of appreciation for restraint and people of all walks of life, priests, unmarried young people, and married people are all suffering from this same lack of restraint. This lack of appreciation is caused by a misconception that restraint is somehow bad and leads to some sort of an extreme in another direction which can be averted only by letting off steam. But to say this you would have to prove that the recent headlines have come about because we suddenly became too strict in our priestly training. In reality the problems in the priesthood as in the rest of society has the exact opposite cause with the very predictable result that those who are inherently less stable go to greater extremes in their unrestraint, and thus the deplorable headlines. I think we need to focus more on stopping all the smut and pornography on our TV, Magazine racks and Internet that promote the sexual vices rather than attacking the virtues of celibacy and chastity. Certainly we should not be singling out the Catholic Church burying it under an avalanche of lawsuits and so destroying whole diocese, taking away places of worship from parishioners who had no culpability in the matter and paralyzing the Church who has been the biggest obstacle to the onslaught of pornography and bad morals.
Fra Roderic Mary
Hi Tomie, here’s a sourced document on the topic of sexual abuse and those most likely to perpetrate it. [http://www.catholicleague.org/research/abuse_in_social_context.htm] The Catholic Church does indeed have some sinners, actually it’s full of sinners since we’re all, a) human and b) prone to sin. However, the Church is by no means a “safe haven”. If you take the time to read the linked document you’ll see some pretty eye-opening data that should temper your opinion with a bit of fact.
Veritas Vos Liberabit!