We should know the reaction of the other Churches to our study and be made aware of ways in which they are dealing with the same concerns. It is certainly appropriate to give consideration to some kind of preparation for the future clergy wife. It is St. Paul's two epistles, I Timothy and Titus, to which we must turn for the scriptural listing of qualifications for these offices, and for their role as husband and parent. According to our canonical tradition, it has been understood to mean that neither can the priest have more than one wife nor can he have been previously married, divorced and remarried. It goes without saying that the second qualification for the wife, that of not being a slanderer, is of enormous importance to her husband's work.
Few things are more unfitting than for a cleric's wife to be the parish gossip.
If the husband is the head of the family in all Christian families, it is even more important that this be so in the case of the priest or deacon. Having his children in subjection with all gravity. . . The priest's family is the model for the whole parish. This fact can place a great deal of stress on the wife and children, but this is not necessarily inevitable if the atmosphere within the family is wisely shaped by the initiative of the head of the family. There is a tendency among priests' wives and children to reject their role as models, but the fact remains that the average church member sees them as such.