If priests could get married, would they still be lonely bachelors?

Question

That whole Vow of Poverty thing could interfere with sending kids to college. Then your kid would be hanging around the church, bumming smokes and getting into trouble. Sooner or later he would wise up and latch onto the Ministry, creating a line of succesion. Besides, who would want to marry a priest?

Answer 1

Nope, they'd nail all the lonely divorcees and settle on one...

Answer 2

They would no longer be bachelors, lonely or not. You also mention the vow of poverty, but I believe you meant the vow of chastity, yes?

We no longer need clergy altogether, because we can study and research and learn the Scriptures on our own. But if people still want priests, then the Pope should lightten up and let 'em marry. I don't see why the Pope should have that kind of power, preventing millions of men from marrying. Imagine all that Papal power since the Papacy began? All those men denied wives, imagine!

This is ridiculous. Priests are men, they are human beings, and God has given mankind the gift of marriage. No one has the right to deny someone his/her right to marry, not even the Pope. He doesn't have the moral right, but the Church has given him this right anyway. It's a wrong right.... pun on words, yes, but y'all know what I mean. ; ^ )

Answer 3

In our church our clergy are "called" not ordained and they get the priesthood when they're 12 years old. Our Priesthood holders are encouraged to get married to fulfill the commandment "Go forth and Multiply".

Dont misunderstand me please, they dont get the full responsibility at 12 years old, they get it in stages. First they get the Aaronic Priesthood: they become Deacon's at 12, Teachers at 14, Priests at 16. When they're 18 They're Eligible for the Melchizedek Priesthood, in which that starts as Elder, then goes to High Priest, Patriach, Seventy, Apostle,.

The President of the High Priesthood is the President of the Church (Doctrine & Covenants 107:64–66).

They never lose their Aaronic Priesthood, but they must be over 18 and have the Melchizedek Priesthood to become a Bishop which is the Highest rank in the Aaronic Priesthood. I believe they must also be married.

Answer 4

Priest don't take a vow of poverty though the church supplies them with things they need. Only monks/friars take all three vows.

Though deacons ARE allowed to marry so to support they're families they get other jobs, and all the deacons I've met are happily married.

Answer 5

I would imagine so from what Christopher West wrote about Chastity being a gift:

"Q: 4. Celibacy is simply unnatural. It's no wonder that so many priests have sexual problems. This type of scandal would end if priests were allowed to marry.

A: In some sense you're right to say celibacy is un-natural. As Christ reveals, celibacy is super-natural. It's celibacy for the sake of the kingdom. By calling some to renounce the natural call to marriage, Christ established an entirely new way of life, and in doing so, he demonstrated the power of the cross to transform lives.

For those who are stuck in a fallen view of sex with no concept of the freedom to which we're called in Christ, the idea of lifelong celibacy is complete nonsense. But for those who have experienced the transformation of their sexual desires in Christ, the idea of making a complete gift of our sexuality to God not only becomes a possibility; it becomes very attractive. The celibate vocation is not a rejection of sexuality. If some approach it this way, according to John Paul II, they're not living in accord with Christ's words.

Celibacy is a grace, a gift. Only a small minority of Christ's followers are given this gift. But those who are given this gift are also given the grace to be faithful to their vows, just as married couples are given the grace to be faithful to their vows.

In both vocations people can and do reject this grace and violate their vows. Certainly there's a need in the typical Catholic diocese for greater openness about sexual woundedness and for development and promotion of ministries that bring Christ's healing to those in need, including priests. But the solution to marital and celibate indidelity is not to concede to human weakness and redefine the nature of the commitments. The solution is to point to the cross as the font of grace that it is, a font from which we can drink freely and receive real power to live and love as we're called.

Furthermore, the statistical rates of sexual misconduct amoung celibate priests is no higher than that of clergy in Christian denominations who are allowed to marry. There is absolutely no evidence that allowing priests to marry would solve or even alleviate this problem.

There's also a dangerously misguided approach to marriage inherent in the idea that marriage is the solution to the sexual scandal of priests. As has been stressed throught this book, marriage does not provide a "legitimate outlet" for disordered sexual desire. Celibacy does NOT cause sexual disorder. Sin does. Simply getting married does NOT cure sexual disorder. Christ does. If a priest, or any other man, were to enter a marriage with deep-seated sexual disorders, he would be condemning his wife to a life of sexual objectification. The only way the scandal of sexual sin (whether committed by priests or others) will end is if people experience the redemption of their sexuality in Christ."

Answer 6

I believe that it is illegal for priests to marry the underage boys that they love.