OK, in the comments from my post yesterday, my friend said:
"Fr. cannot just stop being a priest and decide to be something else. He is a priest forever. To break the sacred vows he made is a Grave Sin. He would be damned. I'm sorry, but it's just the truth. He could never be with this woman and remain a Catholic in good standing. Perhaps he needs to leave *public life* as a priest and retreat to a monastic siutation. That is his only recourse in "discerning his vocation."
I did not know that. So once you take Priestly vows you can never "quit"?
Now this has me wondering about a different situation at our own Parish. We had a very good and holy priest who was from a large immigrant family. He was the oldest brother in the family, and in his culture he was expected to "take charge" of the whole family when his father passed on. He has been trying to do this and be a priest and also minister to the immigrant community. It was totally overwhelming to him. He went on "sabbatical" or whatever they call it last spring to "discern his vocation" because he was really struggling with it.
So, my question is, is it Church teaching that if this man decides he can no longer be a priest due to family obligations, is he then damned? Can he no longer be a Catholic in good standing? There is no "other woman" involved and there is no HINT of scandal with this man - he is one of the most holy and devout priests I've ever known. Does he go to hell if he finds that, in his human condition, he cannot handle being a Priest any longer?
That seems really harsh. So, if a man - with totally good intentions and a true desire to serve the Lord with his life - becomes a Priest and then discovers later on that he can't handle the job, if he leaves the Priesthood he is damned?
It makes me think twice about encouraging my son into the Priesthood actually. Being a Priest has to be one of the hardest jobs on the planet - what if someone finds they can't measure up? [Not that my son wouldn't be able to of course LOL! He's an excellent young man and I have no doubt he'll be hugely successful at whatever God calls him to do].
Wow.
Anyone want to teach me more about this? Are there any references to documents about situations like this and Church teaching? And where is the Mercy of God in this situation? I wouldn't like to see anyone burn in Hell for *one choice* they made - no matter how controversial.
Thanks.
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8 comments:
Kelly, I'm pretty sure this is not true. There is a process called "laicization" that allows a priest to become a layman again. Obviously, he cannot perform sacraments, etc -- but I am pretty sure that he is able to marry if he goes through the process. I'm sorry I don't have time to look up specific references - which is why I said I'm "pretty sure".
I'm not familiar with the process Melanie mentioned, but it must be something akin to anullment. After all Holy Orders is a sacrament just like Holy Matrimony. It seems to me that in order to leave his vows he would have to have them declared invalid for some reason.
Regarding the other priest, I believe he could obtain the permission of the bishop to leave. He would still technically be a priest and be unable to marry though.
melanie is correct. While it's true that the indelible mark of his priesthood remains, he would be forbidden from celebrating the sacraments.
I don't think this is true, either. I'm not saying there is no sin involved. He would be breaking a solemn vow and causing scandal. Of course there is a sin involved there. I'm not saying that if he loves this woman he should pursue that without thought to the consequences to him and the Church. Holy Orders is not marriage, but it is permanent. If he goes through the proper laicization procedures, there is no theological reason that he could not marry in the Church and remain a Catholic in good standing. He would still be a priest, but not be allowed to function as a priest. If he said Mass, it would be valid, but not licit.
Kelly, I just found this, after I posted my last comment.
http://jimmyakin.typepad.com/defensor_fidei/2006/05/what_expriests_.html
Here is the actual canon law. I presume that this is like an annulment. Basically I was partially right in that the vow of celebacy cannot be revoked except in extreme cases. This is not to say the that Church is not...let's say overly generous in stating what is an extreme case.
Can. 290 Sacred ordination once validly received never becomes invalid. A cleric, however, loses the clerical state:
1° by a judgement of a court or an administrative decree, declaring the ordination invalid;
2° by the penalty of dismissal lawfully imposed;
3° by a rescript of the Apostolic See; this rescript, however, is granted to deacons only for grave reasons and to priests only for the gravest of reasons.
Can. 291 Apart from the cases mentioned in can. 290, n. 1, the loss of the clerical state does not carry with it a dispensation from the obligation of celibacy, which is granted solely by the Roman Pontiff.
Can. 292 A cleric who loses the clerical state in accordance with the law, loses thereby the rights that are proper to the clerical state and is no longer bound by any obligations of the clerical state, without prejudice to can. 291. He is prohibited from exercising the power of order, without prejudice to can. 976. He is automatically deprived of all offices and roles and of any delegated power.
Can. 293 A cleric who has lost the clerical state cannot be enrolled as a cleric again save by rescript of the Apostolic See
And just to clarify, any priest at any time can become inactive and even decide to not function as a priest. This in and of itself is not the grave sin. The grave sin would be if he decided to take up with a woman without recieving a declaration of nullity of his ordination.
*but* [and i haven't read the other comments yet, so sorry if i reiterate a point here] you keep saying "if he can't handle it" - it's a vocation. I really feel like *i* can't handle my vocation sometimes! it's called perseverence! I'm determined to get through whatever deserts there are in my vocation. Priests are our spiritual fathers. When they leave, they are, in fact, leaving their children -their flock - behind.
I too, didn't know about the *damned* thing. That'd be interesting to find out from good priest friends.
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