For those who are Catholic

So a new pope will be elected soon...do you think he should
A. Allow women to become priests?
B. Allow Priests to get married?
C. Both
D. Neither

Last, what would you like to see this pope focus his attention on.

C. Both

I would like to see him actually address the sex abuse scandals and do something to prevent this from happening in the future, rather than continue dealing with it in secrecy. This is another reason I think female and married clergy might be a good idea. People who have children tend to be more protective of them.

I just found out recently that the priests not being able to marry was not from 'the beginning.'

It's weird to me that they would be allowed to, then it was taken away.

Maybe if they can marry, there won't be so much abuse.

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Posted by shorty the pumpkin

I just found out recently that the priests not being able to marry was not from 'the beginning.'

It's weird to me that they would be allowed to, then it was taken away.

Maybe if they can marry, there won't be so much abuse.

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celibicy is not from the begining either.

I learned somewhere that the whole not supposed tono sex thing started a few hundred years ago so that men would not steal important and costly items from the church and pass on to their children.

Jesus never said anything about priests being men or celibate -- that was man's way of being controlling. (He nver said anything about priest either, but that's another story all together)
So I would like to see both in the Catholic Church, as well as more open discussion of today's issues (yes the sex scandal, divorce, birth control, etc.)

Part of the reason priests were not allowed to marry was that the church did not want them leaving an estate to their heirs. The other reason was so that they woudl only have a single vocation - to God and God's work. Being married pulls them in another direction.

This is how it was explained to me on several occasions

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Posted by lilmrs

So a new pope will be elected soon...do you think he should
A. Allow women to become priests?
B. Allow Priests to get married?
C. Both
D. Neither

Last, what would you like to see this pope focus his attention on.

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Considering that gender and celibacy have no liturgical basis and are just promulgated Canon Law, I think C, but realistically, I hope for at least B.

I hope the next Pope makes a real effort to examine the Church's stance on birth-control methods in an effort to contain the AIDS epidemic. Also I believe if the reevaluated birth-control their stance on pro-life would be more realistic (i.e. if you can prevent pregnancies there's no need for abortion etc)

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Posted by lilmrs

So a new pope will be elected soon...do you think he should
A. Allow women to become priests?
B. Allow Priests to get married?
C. Both
D. Neither

Last, what would you like to see this pope focus his attention on.

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Neither

I think if Priests were allowed to marry there would be more Priests in the priesthood.

I don't think the next Pope will do anything remotely like either of these choices. I believe they'll be heading the ultra-conservative way on this one, but at least he'll probably be pretty old. Very few are in favor of a long reign again.

I still understand the point of not allowing priests to marry. Despite what others have mentioned, I don't believe that has anything to do with the abuse that goes on. There are plenty of married pedafiles - one really doesn't have much to do with the other. From what I have been taught and told, priests are not allowed to be married because they are married to God and their parish. Thus, they are always 100% available to their parishoners and any 'good will' that needs to be done. I do agree that if they were allowed to marry, marital problems, families, etc would get in the way of this.

However, I do believe that there's ZERO reason that a woman should not become a priest. Essentially they're saying that a penis provides some sort of divine power to allow men to handle transubstantiation and sacraments But as much as I'd love to see it, I do not believe it will *ever* happen.

D = Neither

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Posted by nylisa

I think if Priests were allowed to marry there would be more Priests in the priesthood.

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Thats true. However there would be a lot more issues raised - like how Priests would get the money to raise their families, educate their children - etc...you can only imagine that controversies that could arise, especially with the media being so anti-catholic church to begin with (with the exception of this week, of course).

However I would still say B. As someone else mentioned, it is a relatively recent movement that has not allowed priests to marry - for hundreds of years, priests, bishops, even popes got married. I would like to see it happen because as you said NYLisa - it would increase the amount of priests.

I don't think that women should be priests though.

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Posted by EireBride-to-Be

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Posted by nylisa

I think if Priests were allowed to marry there would be more Priests in the priesthood.

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I don't think that women should be priests though.

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I'm curious, why?

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Posted by EireBride-to-Be

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Posted by nylisa

I think if Priests were allowed to marry there would be more Priests in the priesthood.

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Thats true. However there would be a lot more issues raised - like how Priests would get the money to raise their families, educate their children - etc...you can only imagine that controversies that could arise, especially with the media being so anti-catholic church to begin with (with the exception of this week, of course).

However I would still say B. As someone else mentioned, it is a relatively recent movement that has not allowed priests to marry - for hundreds of years, priests, bishops, even popes got married. I would like to see it happen because as you said NYLisa - it would increase the amount of priests.

I don't think that women should be priests though.

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I agree with 100%. I totally know that if priests could marry there would be major controversy and alot more people would not want to give to the church.

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Posted by eogara

I don't think the next Pope will do anything remotely like either of these choices. I believe they'll be heading the ultra-conservative way on this one, but at least he'll probably be pretty old. Very few are in favor of a long reign again.

I still understand the point of not allowing priests to marry. Despite what others have mentioned, I don't believe that has anything to do with the abuse that goes on. There are plenty of married pedafiles - one really doesn't have much to do with the other. From what I have been taught and told, priests are not allowed to be married because they are married to God and their parish. Thus, they are always 100% available to their parishoners and any 'good will' that needs to be done. I do agree that if they were allowed to marry, marital problems, families, etc would get in the way of this.

However, I do believe that there's ZERO reason that a woman should not become a priest. Essentially they're saying that a penis provides some sort of divine power to allow men to handle transubstantiation and sacraments But as much as I'd love to see it, I do not believe it will *ever* happen.

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I don't think pedaphilia has anything to do with marital status either, but I do think parents become more enraged about it and do more to stop it- perhaps the church could use some of those people. I understand what you are saying about unmarried priests and agree to some extent, but I also think that married priests may be able to relate to their parishoners in a way that single, celibate priests may not. My DH is Episcopalian and it seems to work well for them.

I have known and worked with nuns who have done pretty incredible things and who would make fantastic priests, but are not allowed simply because they are female.

I also agree that I think the next Pope is going to be a conservative, I think the Church is swinging back in that direction.