www.byzcath.org Forums News & Events Church News Eastern Catholics should embrace celibacy?

We all suffer from many sinful inclinations, but some are graver than others because they are not only sinful if acted upon, but are unnatural per se.

The Vatican itself has said in the past (rather recently mind you) that men who suffer from homosexual inclinations as a more or less stable pathological condition are unfit for ordination in the Roman Church. So I am not saying anything that is all that shocking.

I know Orthodox that would join in such with such demands. And Rome does seem to listen to the Orthodox more than the ECs.

Demand? Since when do we DEMAND? as a Christian. If you want to demand, then demand that the Federal government stop discriminating against the Catholic Church. See how far you get with that!

As always, it is the word "mandatory" that creates the problems.

i want to apologize to all in the forum for bringing up sexuality- especially accusing celibate priests of being gay or implying it.

I was trying to come to terms with why Rome has problems with married sexual men and my own personal frustrations with the issue of ordination of married men.

I was wrong to blast that out there. I am insensitive and rude.
I was wrong
I apologize.

Please find it in your hearts to forgive me and please pray for me that I learn to be more reserved in my responses.

John

John, my friend and brother,

God forgives, who are we not to forgive. As you asked for yourself, we too ask your prayers for that the Lord give us the wisdom and patience to find the proper and most effective way to deal with the issues that face us, our clergy, and our Churches.

Many years,

Neil

I haven't studied the matter thoroughly, but your student-loan argument (or would it be called "seminary-loan argument"?) makes sense. Certainly, any bishop should think carefully before ordaining a married seminarian with $50,000 debt -- just like he should think carefully before ordaining a celibate seminarian with $100,000 debt.

Money is a stupid argument. Especially in light of the many mature married men, including quite a number of married deacons, who would make excellent presbyters. These men have established careers and grown children; they also know most of what they need to know already.

As to seminaries costing so much, insofar as the entire seminary system is a relatively recent (and western) innovation in both the Greek Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, and insofar as the Church in its heyday knew no such institution, maybe its time to ditch them altogether.

If that's too radical, perhaps we should reexamine my suggestion from a decade ago, that the Greek Catholics simply send all their diaconal and presbyteral candidates to Orthodox seminaries. That would remove an unnecessary cost from our eparchial budgets, freeing up funds to support married seminarians. Tuition at Orthodox seminaries, meanwhile, would likely decrease because their operating budget would be amortized over a larger student body.

Meanwhile, cease using money as an excuse.

I agree with Stuart. One compromise might be to unite all Eastern Catholic Seminaries. Money should never be an excuse. I don't really think the Eastern Catholics wish to grow. I've experienced so many blocks to growth that I'm thoroughly disappointed. Perhaps we deserve to die.

I think Stuart is right on many accounts here. I would think sending our married postulants for the priesthood to the St Stephens course in Orthodox Theology (almost all online). Then the postulant could learn the liturgy and the other mysteries from an experienced priest (perhaps do what the Copts do and send the newly ordained priest to a monastery for 40 days to learn how to serve the mysteries?)

The idea of studying at Orthodox seminaries is not new. For several years, both when all of our priestly formation was under the aegis of the Basilian Salvatorian seminary in Methuen MA and, later, when St Gregory Eparchial Seminary in Newton MA was functioning, Melkite seminarians did a portion of their education at Holy Cross GOA Seminary.

Likewise, combined seminaries are not a new phenomenon. Melkite seminarians currently attend Ss Cyril & Methodius (Byzantine Ruthenian) Seminary and at least one of the faculty there is a Melkite priest, Father George (Gallaro).

There was a time when Romanian and Maronite seminarians attended the Melkite Seminary (in fact, Bishop John Michael of the Romanians and Bishop Robert Shaheen of the Maronites both did major portions of their seminary training with the Melkites.) And, in that same era, some of the faculty were non-Melkites, including Father Archimandrite Januarius (Izzo) of the Italo-Greek-Albanians.

Many years,

Neil

How does that argue against "any bishop should think carefully before ordaining a married seminarian with $50,000 debt -- just like he should think carefully before ordaining a celibate seminarian with $100,000 debt"?

Hi Yuhannon. There's something I've been puzzled by, that perhaps you (or someone else on this thread) could help me with:

I was thinking about this last week and didn't mention it, but I am reading these comments about debt to mean that celibate newly ordained priests coming out of SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary have $50,000 in debt due to the Church following graduation? That is astonishing as I do not believe that to be the norm in the American Orthodox world for Orthodox students who become priests.