Priests To Say "I Do?"

In the past few weeks, the controversial topic of whether or not priests should be able to marry has been brought to my attention. It all started in early May when photos of a popular Miami priest hugging and kissing a woman on the beach surfaced. Shortly after the news broke, I listened to a segment of NPR's Talk of the Nation. The topic - should celibacy be voluntary for priests. Then the subject came up again last weekend at the church I attended. It was the main topic of the priest's homily. And what do you know, today's lunch conversation was steered in that direction yet again.

I was raised Catholic and attended a Catholic school all throughout my elementary and high school years. Needless to say, my life has been heavily influenced by this. (insert Catholic guilt joke here) That being said, there are several traditions of the Catholic Church that I do not agree with. Priests not being able to get married is one of them.

I can't help but question this tradition. One of the guest speakers from the Talk of the Nation segment (that I mentioned above) pointed out that marriage used to be an option for priests before the 12th century. In fact, some of the first holy people (i.e. Moses and Aaron) were priests who were married. But for the last 450 years or so, remaining celibate has been mandatory for priests. Why did the Vatican enforce this change? Are celibate priests more capable? Are priests today serving the church and God better than Moses and Aaron did? I get that priests devote their lives to God and that is supposed to be their main focus. But I wonder, could married priests be just as devoted to God? Could they provide the same sort of support and service as celibate priests do?

When Catholics prepare for the Sacrament of Marriage, they have to go through a preparation course. Priests are heavily involved in this process. I question this. Can a priest really know that much about marriage if he himself is not? Can a priest really provide a couple with advice and wisdom on the subject of matrimony? I know the priest is acting as God's messenger, but I still question...

And I won't ignore the elephant in the room. What about all the cases of sexual abuse and molestation priests have been accused of? If celibacy was simply an option and not forced upon, would all those unfortunate acts have happened?

Maybe these questions could be answered by someone more educated than myself on this topic. But I then would ask this, can you ignore the startling statistics that are out about the shortage of priests? In the homily I listened to last weekend, the priest said that by 2015, there will be a loss of more than 15,000 priests in the U.S. alone. Add into the equation the fact that our priests are aging. More than half are over the age of 55. He said in his Diocese this year, only 2 priests were ordained. 2.

With fewer and fewer priests available to serve the Catholic Church, the logical part of me thinks that some sort of change will be inevitable. Maybe it's the hope in me. Either way, something has got to give.