INTRODUCTION 

Rev. James E. Lovejoy

Composed in 2012 by Jim to give his rationale for soliciting the stories and for creating this collection

During the four and a half year pontificate of Pope John XXIII, the 21st Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church was convened bringing some 2000 bishops from around the world to Rome. From 1962-1965 they collectively introduced the People of God to the modern world and the continual evolution of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

During the years prior to Vatican II and beyond, there was a great sense of much-needed reform and renewal. However, with Pope John’s untimely death at the end of the first session of the Council, there were already signs of resistance by the Roman Curia (made up of a majority of conservative Cardinals) to John XXIII’s vision of the future church.

Approximately 25 million Catholic priests left the clerical state (but not the priesthood) in resistance to those who had been opposed to the Council’s agenda from the beginning. Many of those who left were not opposed so much to doctrinal issues as they were to disciplinary and moral issues, such as rigid views on birth control for the laity and mandated celibacy for the priesthood. The majority of those leaving chose to marry and were no longer recognized as priests by the hierarchy, whether they were “laicized” (reduced to the lay state) or not.

During the ensuing decades, vocations to the priesthood and the religious life for both men and women dwindled. A crisis arose as many existing parishes were closed or combined and some were without pastors and assistants to meet the needs of the laity.

Married priests have been accused of deserting the Church and of being major culprits in the loss of vocations. However, the hierarchy is primarily responsible because of its attempt to defend the Institution’s image rather than take immediate action against known priest pedophiles so as to protect innocent child victims. The clerical abuse and its subsequent cover-up by some bishops has been going on for at least 6 decades and the primary way of covering it up was deliberately transferring guilty priests from one parish to another unsuspecting parish where the abuse continued undetected.

Many married priests belong to national organizations of married priests. One of these is CITI Ministries, Inc. founded by a lay woman, Louise Haggett, whose personal experience in failing to find a priest to come and anoint her dying mother, stirred her into awareness of the shortage of priests as far back as the early 1990’s. Together with a couple of married priests she knew, they went through a lengthy process of creating an organization of laypeople calling married priests back to ministry and advertising their availability for service to people being refused sacraments or needing the ministry of a priest, e.g., baptism, marriage, home church and funeral services. Louise saw to it that married priests were provided a way to become certified in their state as validly ordained and  legally recognized to officiate at marriages. Louise graciously offered the “Foreword” for this website. The Story of CITI/Rentapriest can be found at:  www.rentaprieststory.blogspot.com

Currently there are thousands of married priests serving those who call upon them for help throughout the country and around the world. One source states: “There are over 110,000 married priests world-wide. In recent polls, more than seventy percent of American Catholics favor a married priesthood.” 

The Church does not provide any assistance to married priests. Pedophile priests receive retirement benefits and some, like in Milwaukee, have received $20,000.00 just to leave and not go through any laicization process. Although denied by Cardinal Timothy Dolan in 2008, before leaving Milwaukee to become Archbishop of New York, in May, 2012, he kept “quiet today after his old diocese, the archdiocese of Milwaukee, confirmed that under his leadership the church paid individual sums of $20,000 to priests accused of molesting children.” According to ABC News, “The archdiocese of Milwaukee confirmed to the Associated Press Wednesday that the church paid the priests money to voluntarily sign papers to leave the priesthood because it was cheaper and faster than removing them by other administrative routes, which would have included going through the Vatican.” More at http://abcnews.go.com/US/cardinal-dolan-quiet-20k-payments-pedophile-priests/story?id=16467662

Most married priests totally support themselves and their families, although seeking employment is difficult for many since it is not always easy to translate service as a priest to work in the secular world. Many have gone on to obtain Master’s degrees and PhD’s in order to compensate for lack of sufficient education in the seminary and graduate theological training. They have new appreciation of the laity since they no longer have their free housing, food and other clerical benefits. Another plus side of their lives as married priests is that they now understand much better what is involved in a partnership with their wives, and the benefits as well as sacrifices required to raise a family. I, for one, believe that I am in a far better position to provide marriage preparation and counseling, with my wife at my side, than I ever had as a canonical priest.

The following stories are a small but very varied sample of the journeys married priests have made in their transition from clerical priesthood to becoming...

MARRIED PRIESTS OF INTEGRITY.