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The Catholic Church has strict rules regarding priestly celibacy, with the Latin Catholic Church requiring clerical celibacy for the priesthood since the Gregorian Reform in the 11th century. However, there are some exceptions, with Eastern Catholic Churches not requiring celibacy for the priesthood and even ordaining married Anglican priests who convert to Catholicism. While the Catholic Church officially maintains priestly celibacy, there have been calls for change, with some arguing that married priests are fine and that the Church should adapt to modern society. This is especially relevant given the decreasing number of men joining the priesthood.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Catholic vicars' ability to marry | Catholic vicars cannot marry after being ordained. |
| Exceptions | In rare cases, married Anglican vicars have converted to Catholicism and been allowed to become priests. |
| Catholic view on celibacy | The Catholic Church upholds clerical celibacy, which requires some or all clergy to be unmarried. |
| Catholic Church exceptions | The Latin Catholic Church occasionally relaxes the rule in special cases, such as the conversion of a married Anglican priest. |
| Eastern Catholic Churches | Eastern Catholic Churches do not require clerical celibacy for the priesthood and allow the ordination of married men as priests. |
| Orthodox Church | The Orthodox Church does not permit clerical marriage, but married men may be ordained as priests. |
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What You'll Learn
Catholic priests cannot marry after ordination
The Catholic Church has a long tradition of clerical celibacy, with the Latin Catholic Church requiring priestly celibacy since the Gregorian Reform in the 11th century. This rule is upheld by the Catholic Church in both the Latin rite and the Eastern rites, with priests and deacons typically unable to marry after ordination.
Theological and canonical reasons are given for this stance. Theologically, priests are seen to serve in the place of Christ, and as Christ was not married, priests abstain from marriage and devote themselves wholly to the service of the Church. This idea is supported by Scripture, where Paul recommends celibacy and urges ministers to abstain from "civilian affairs". Canonically, priests are bound by vows or promises of celibacy, and the Church has established impediments that invalidate marriages attempted by those who have been ordained.
However, there are exceptions to the rule of clerical celibacy within the Catholic Church. The Eastern Catholic Churches generally allow the ordination of married men as priests and deacons, although they do not permit clergy to marry after ordination. The Latin rite has also made exceptions, particularly in the case of converting married Anglican priests who wish to be ordained as Catholic priests.
Despite these exceptions, the Catholic Church's stance on priestly celibacy remains largely unchanged. In recent years, there has been a quiet revolution in Catholic England, with an increasing number of married Anglican vicars converting to Catholicism and becoming priests. While this may indicate a potential shift in the Church's approach, the Vatican has been reluctant to officially relax its rules on priestly celibacy.
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Exceptions for married Anglican vicars who convert to Catholicism
In the Catholic Church, the Latin Church generally follows the discipline of clerical celibacy, which means that, as a rule, only unmarried or widowed men are accepted as candidates for ordination. However, there are exceptions to this practice, particularly in the case of married Anglican vicars who convert to Catholicism and wish to become priests.
Since the pontificate of Pope Pius XII, the Catholic Church has allowed exceptions for married Protestant ministers, including Anglican clergy, who convert to Catholicism and wish to become priests. This is provided that their wives consent to their ordination. This exception was further solidified by the establishment of personal ordinariates for former Anglicans beginning in 2011, which added to the number of requests for such exceptions.
In the Eastern Catholic Churches, married men are allowed to be ordained as priests and deacons, but they must marry before becoming priests. This is also the case in the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches, where married men may be ordained to the priesthood, but they are not allowed to marry after ordination.
The Latin Catholic Church occasionally relaxes the rule of clerical celibacy in special cases, such as the conversion of a married Anglican priest who wishes to be ordained a Catholic priest. However, it is important to note that celibacy is still a requirement to become a bishop in the Catholic Church.
While the Catholic Church traditionally requires clerical celibacy, there have been instances where married Anglican vicars have converted to Catholicism and been allowed to become priests. Since 1994, around 40 married Anglican vicars in England have taken this path to becoming Catholic priests. This strategy involves first becoming a Church of England vicar, then finding a wife, and finally converting to Catholicism.
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Eastern Catholic Churches allow ordination of married men
The Catholic Church does not allow clerical marriage, meaning that Catholic priests cannot marry after ordination. However, there are some exceptions to this rule. Many Eastern Catholic Churches, such as the Assyrian Church of the East, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, allow married men to be ordained as priests and deacons. These churches require men to marry before becoming priests, and once ordained, they cannot marry. This distinction between clerical marriage and the ordination of married men is an important one to make.
The Latin Catholic Church, on the other hand, has maintained a tradition of clerical celibacy since the Gregorian Reform in the 11th century. However, in special cases, such as the conversion of a married Anglican priest to Catholicism, the Latin Catholic Church has occasionally relaxed this discipline. This exception was notably applied to married Anglican vicars who converted to Catholicism and became priests.
The distinction between Eastern and Western Catholic Churches regarding clerical celibacy is due to the discipline of priestly celibacy being practised in the Latin rite. In the Eastern rites, priestly celibacy is not a requirement for all men seeking ordination, and the Vatican has respected the longstanding customs of these churches. This diversity in discipline is possible because priestly celibacy is not a doctrine, which would require universal adherence.
The Vatican has also recently lifted a ban on the ordination of married men in Eastern Catholic Churches in the US, Canada, and Australia. This change was implemented by Pope Francis and Cardinal Leonard Sandri, explicitly authorising Catholic bishops of the Eastern churches in these regions to ordain married men. This decision was influenced by the historical precedent of married Catholic priests in these countries, as well as the desire to accommodate former Anglican communities entering the Catholic Church, which includes married priests.
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Latin Catholic Church requires clerical celibacy
The Latin Catholic Church has required clerical celibacy since the Gregorian Reform in the 11th century. This rule was reaffirmed in the 20th century. However, there have been some exceptions to this rule, and in recent years, there have been calls for reform.
Clerical celibacy is a discipline within the Latin Catholic Church that requires only unmarried men to be ordained to the episcopate, priesthood, and diaconate. This rule was first formally instituted in the 11th century, influenced by Bernard of Clairvaux. The Second Lateran Council in 1139 is often cited as the first time a general law of celibacy was introduced, requiring the ordination of only unmarried men. This rule was reaffirmed by the 1917 Code of Canon Law, which formally made marriage a canonical impediment to ordination in the Latin Church.
The Latin Catholic Church occasionally relaxes this rule in special cases, such as the conversion of a married Anglican priest who wishes to be ordained as a Catholic priest. In some cases, married Anglican vicars have converted to Catholicism and have been allowed to become priests. Additionally, some Eastern Catholic Churches, such as the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, have always allowed the ordination of married men as priests and deacons. However, even in these cases, married priests are not allowed to remarry if their wife dies, and celibacy is required for bishops.
The requirement of clerical celibacy in the Latin Catholic Church is not a dogma but an ecclesiastical law. According to Jason Berry of The New York Times, this law was adopted in the Middle Ages because of concerns that clerics' children would inherit church property and create dynasties. This view is supported by philosopher Will Durant and a Catholic high school church history teacher on Reddit, who also cited the issue of corruption and the need to raise the prestige of the church as reasons for the enforcement of celibacy.
In recent years, there have been calls for reform regarding clerical celibacy in the Catholic Church. In 2019, several German and Austrian Catholic bishops expressed their support for allowing married priests in the Catholic Church. In the same year, the Amazonassynode in Rome voted in favour of married priests in Latin America.
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Clerical marriage is admitted among Protestants
In the Catholic Church, the Latin Catholic Church requires priestly celibacy, while the Eastern Catholic Churches do not. The Latin Catholic Church occasionally relaxes this rule in special cases, such as the conversion of a married Anglican priest who wishes to be ordained as a Catholic priest.
The Catholic Church does not allow clerical marriage, which is the practice of allowing Christian clergy to marry after they have been ordained. However, there have been instances of Catholic priests marrying, such as the case of Zambian archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, who also ordained married men as priests. In Catholic England, a quiet revolution is taking place, with around 40 married Anglican vicars having converted to Catholicism and then been allowed to become priests.
In contrast, clerical marriage is admitted among Protestants, including Lutherans and Anglicans. The practice of clerical marriage was initiated in the West by the followers of Martin Luther, who himself was a priest and married a former nun, Katharina von Bora, in 1525. In the Church of England, the Catholic tradition of clerical celibacy continued after the Break with Rome, until the Clergy Marriage Act of 1548, which allowed Anglican priests to marry.
Protestant denominations permit unmarried ordained pastors to marry, welcoming the idea of marriage and encouraging it as a model of a functioning Christian marriage. In denominations that ordain both men and women, a married couple might serve as co-pastors. However, some Protestant denominations do not admit second marriages by widowed pastors, and some will not accept divorced persons for pastoral roles.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Catholic deacons are allowed to marry. In fact, most permanent deacons are married. However, they must be married before beginning the process of ordination.
No, a Catholic deacon cannot remarry if his wife dies. Barring a special dispensation from the Holy See, Catholic deacons are expected to remain celibate if they are widowed.
Yes, a Catholic deacon can officiate at a Catholic wedding as long as they have been delegated to do so by the pastor.
