St. Thomas

Question:  Father, will priests be able to marry? Didn’t Pope Francis say something about married priests? Wasn’t there some meeting?
Answer:      Well, that should be a question for ‘Ask the HOLY Father’ not ‘Ask Father’! I’m in no position to be able to make such decisions. That is the prerogative of the Pontiff; it’s way above my pay grade! What I can tell you is that priestly celibacy is currently the law of the Church. Some people say we’d have more priests if they could marry, but I seriously doubt that. There’s a clergy shortage in many Protestant denominations, and their ministers can marry. The Catholic Church has an ancient tradition of clerical celibacy drawn from the belief that the priest stands as an Alter Christus –another Christ. Priests are called to live in the image of Christ in a unique way. It isn’t that Jesus was not married in this life, though that is part of the argument, but that we’re asked to live in union with the Resurrected Christ in glory. Since no one is married or given in marriage in heaven (Matthew 22:30), priests live according to that model. We are asked to point to the life in heaven by our commitment to God in the Church that goes above all other relationships. The law of clerical celibacy could change, but it would require a major shift in the theology of priestly life. Given that, I would say don’t expect to see anything change.