From: eje@irenaeus.mlo.dec.com (Eric James Ewanco)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Anglicans/Catholics
Date: 20 Nov 92 05:47:31 GMT
Reply-To: ewanco@kalvin.enet.dec.com
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation

In article <Nov.19.02.37.52.1992.1193@geneva.rutgers.edu>, abigail@ramsey.cs.laurentian.ca (Shawn Abigail) writes:

> It is possible that I might get some of the finer points incorrect,
> but I believe that there was a married Anglican minister in Ontario,
> who converted to Roman Catholicism, and was then accepted (re-ordained?)
> as a Roman Catholic priest.  I remember a reporter trying to generate
> a little news by asking him if he thought that he could minister more
> effectively to married people since he himself is married.  Talk about
> a loaded question!  His reply was something like "I think I can minister
> in a different way, but not necessarily a better way".

It is true that Anglican priests who are married and convert to Catholicism
can be re-ordained priests and remain married.  (They are re-ordained, since
Anglican orders are considered invalid.) 

> My understanding is this:

> A Roman Catholic man who is single or widowed can be ordained.  A man
> who is already an ordained Anglican minister, who converts to Roman
> Catholicism, falls into some special category.  Perhaps this was a
> one-time trial event, or perhaps there were further extenuating
> circumstances in this case.

A man may be validly ordained whether or not he is married.  However, it is
not possible for a married man to be ordained a Latin rite priest without the
express permission of the Pope; this occurs with Anglican priests.  A married
man may be ordained an Eastern Rite priest I believe without specific
permission from the Pope, although I am not sure.  Usually, however, for the
sake of preventing the exploitation of loopholes, Eastern Rite Catholic
churches in predominately Latin Rite countries (like the US) require their
priests to be celibate. 

What I believe is not possible is for a man to be ordained and then married. I
believe that ordination is an "impediment" to marriage.  Under no circumstances
may a priest marry; he must be married before ordination, and if his wife dies,
he may not get remarried.

> Shawn Abigail (not exactly your best source for Catholic theology)
> abigail@ramsey.cs.laurentian.ca

Eric
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\==========================- 2 Th 2:15 -====================================/
    "...[T]he greatest and most ancient Church known to all, founded and
    organized at Rome by [] Peter and Paul, [is] that Church which has the
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       -- St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies, c. 180 A.D., 3,3,3.