It’s time to allow Catholic priests to marry

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The first pope got married – it’s time for the Catholic Church to move forward backward. It was not always the “status quo”.

We are sure of one thing: the first pope, Peter, was married.

The three synoptic gospels tell how Peter’s mother-in-law was healed by Jesus at their home in Capernaum (Matthew 8:14-17, Mark 1:29-31, Luke 4:38). These passages clearly describe Peter as being married.

This is important, especially since the bravest of popes, Pope Francis, dared to raise the issue of married priests last weekend.

Read more: Pope Francis could open the door to married Catholic priests

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The center of the Catholic Church, the Vatican in Rome.

The head of the Catholic Church told an assembly of bishops at the Vatican that when it comes to the contentious issue of marriage permission for priests, they must not be “choked in the ashes of the fear and concern to defend the status quo”.

But many Catholic Church leaders still are. The pope was accused of heresy for a perfectly good idea. US Cardinal Raymond Burke has called the whole idea of ​​the upcoming synod a direct attack on the “Lordship of Christ”. He has many fervent supporters, especially in America.

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The slippery slope argument holds here. Allowing married men and women will require access to the priesthood and so on.

Such arguments trivialize the seriousness of the issue. Half a century from now, because of a totally unnatural doctrine of celibacy, the Catholic Church will cling to the maintenance of life and relevance.

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It is time for the Catholic Church to allow priests to marry.

The Vatican is keenly aware of the vocations crisis, particularly in the Western world, with only African countries showing an increase in the number of people wishing to become priests.

There is a time and a tide, and this Pope clearly sees the magnitude of the crisis.
In a thinly veiled warning about complacency, Francis said: ‘If everything goes on as before, if we go through our days just ‘this is the way things have always been done’, then the gift disappears, snuffed out. by the ashes of fear and the concern to defend the status quo.

Ending celibacy as a requirement will not end the vocations crisis, but it will sort it out. The question of how to recover the missing herd is quite another matter.

François showed a lot of courage and insight to start the much needed discussion. He is on the right side of history.

After all, Peter, a married pope, was the rock on which the church was built. Francis is clearly following in his footsteps.

What do you think? Should Catholic priests be allowed to marry? Let us know in the comments section below.

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