priest divorce?

Petermn · #1 Jun 18, '07, 2:29 pm

Can a divorced man (with children) become a Roman Catholic Priest?

ltbpoe43 · #2 Jun 18, '07, 2:47 pm

As I understand it he would have to have an annulment and his kids would have to be adults.

Hellisreal · #3 Jun 18, '07, 2:51 pm

It has happened I think. Do you have a problem with it?

Joe Kelley · #4 Jun 18, '07, 3:34 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by ltbpoe43

As I understand it he would have to have an annulment and his kids would have to be adults.

I think that is right. I know a woman who entered a convent ; those were the required conditions.

cameron_lansing · #5 Jun 18, '07, 3:47 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Petermn

Can a divorced man (with children) become a Roman Catholic Priest?

This has been recently discussed and continues in discussion.

http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=158998

Petermn · #6 Jun 19, '07, 5:57 am

Thankyou for those answers.
I ask because I am about to take on a course of Christian study but have not yet decided which 'avenue' to take and have no idea yet where the study will take me.
I want to have all my options open at this stage and I am soon to become that divorced man with two young children!
Thank you for your replies folks.

willwhite07 · #7 Mar 9, '09, 7:12 pm

we all have out skeletons?
i am in lpmi and am thinking of divorce so oneday i can study for the priesthood,but the topper is before i was a catholic i was married 3 times BUT i received a right to marry before i was married in the church,good luck on your discernment which i am in as we speak

CarmeliteGirl25 · #8 Mar 9, '09, 7:39 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by willwhite07

we all have out skeletons?
i am in lpmi and am thinking of divorce so oneday i can study for the priesthood,but the topper is before i was a catholic i was married 3 times BUT i received a right to marry before i was married in the church,good luck on your discernment which i am in as we speak

I do not suggest that you divorce so you can become a priest. Before becoming a priest, if one was divorced, one would have to receive an annulment before being admitted to the seminary. If the Tribunal investigated your marriage and discovered that this is the only reason for the annulment request, it would not be granted, sorry to say.

Your vocation is marriage. You made the commitment when you said your vows and the officiator pronounced you husband and wife. Though you may feel an attraction to the priesthood, God never calls us away from our responsibilities as a husband and father. The only way that you would get close to the priesthood in your present situation is becoming a permanent deacon, with which, you would need your wife's permission. The diaconate program requires that your spouse writes a letter of recommendation before your application is approved.

I pray that you will not take offense to what I just said, but I really hope you think about what I have said and take it seriously. May God bless you and give you peace.

willwhite07 · #9 Mar 10, '09, 3:14 am

hello-
i am already taking steps to get into the deaconate program,i know all about it,i am a very learned catholic and study my faith diligently, i am a daily parishioner and am very active in my parish. my wife lured mw into our marriage because she sought this country not my love. she had 2 boys out of marriage and lived that way for 20 years now she is in the good graces since she married a catholic man with no blemishes. yes of course she is acceptable to me intering the deaconate and she not only has to agree she must attend some classes as well,so i could still apply for that but if my marriage is shaky at best it is a wrong move and as far as god would never want you to leave one vocation to enter another, it seems st agustine bishop of hippo recived a divorce before he converted and moved on to become a bishop and a doctor of our church. have a good day

CarmeliteGirl25 · #10 Mar 10, '09, 6:50 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by willwhite07

hello-
i am already taking steps to get into the deaconate program,i know all about it,i am a very learned catholic and study my faith diligently, i am a daily parishioner and am very active in my parish. my wife lured mw into our marriage because she sought this country not my love. she had 2 boys out of marriage and lived that way for 20 years now she is in the good graces since she married a catholic man with no blemishes. yes of course she is acceptable to me intering the deaconate and she not only has to agree she must attend some classes as well,so i could still apply for that but if my marriage is shaky at best it is a wrong move and as far as god would never want you to leave one vocation to enter another, it seems st agustine bishop of hippo recived a divorce before he converted and moved on to become a bishop and a doctor of our church. have a good day

Ok, I definitely understand your situation now. If your wife married you just to receive resident status in this country, and you did not know about it, then I believe the Tribunal will see that as a reasonable cause.

However, it is not correct that St. Augustine of Hippo was married. His mother tried to get him to marry to calm his sexual desire. As you probably know, he had several mistresses, and an illegitimate child with one of them.

Quote:

His mother, St. Monica, tried to convince him to give up his mistress and get married. Augustine agreed, but his fiancee was too young, and it was delayed for two years, and they eventually decided to end the relationship. St. Augustine became dismayed and searched for answers, eventually leading him to study under Bishop Ambrose and Plato at the same time. He learned that Bishop Ambrose had the answers to the questions he had, and as a result, he converted to Christianity.

After his conversion, Augustine went back to his native Africa in 387, where he was ordained a priest in 391 and consecrated bishop of Hippo in 396. It was not his intention to become a priest. He was visiting the town of Hippo, was in church hearing a sermon, and the bishop, without warning, said, "This Church is in need of more priests, and I believe that the ordination of Augustine would be to the glory of God." Willing hands dragged Augustine forward, and the bishop together with his council of priests laid hands on Augustine and ordained him to the priesthood. (The experience may have colored Augustine's perception of such questions as, "Does a man come to God because he has chosen to do so, or because God has chosen him, and drawn him to Himself?") A few years later, when the Bishop of Hippo died, Augustine was chosen to succeed him.

I suppose that you know that if you decide that an annulment is in the future, and you are a deacon already, you cannot remarry unless you have children. Even then, you have to receive permission.

Please don't view me as rude or thinking you are dumb. If I came off that way, I apologize. I think it's wonderful that you want to be a deacon, and that you want to serve the Church. I also think it is great that you are learning about the faith and trying to make the best decisions. I will gladly offer up prayers for your discernment and your family. May the Lord give you His love and peace. God bless you!

**Friar David, O.Carm** · #11 Mar 10, '09, 8:48 am

I have said this before in other threads but I think it is important enough to restate here.

While the Church lays out the basic guidelines for who can enter into formation for the priesthood the dioceses and religious orders/communities are free to add to them.

Some dioceses and religious orders/communities will not accept a man who has an annulment because of the possibility of causing scandal.

This is something to keep in mind and to not get discouraged because there are dioceses and religious orders/communities that do accept such men, you just may have to look around a bit more and may not get your first choice.

Corki · #12 Mar 10, '09, 9:00 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by ByzCath

I have said this before in other threads but I think it is important enough to restate here.

While the Church lays out the basic guidelines for who can enter into formation for the priesthood the dioceses and religious orders/communities are free to add to them.

Some dioceses and religious orders/communities will not accept a man who has an annulment because of the possibility of causing scandal.

This is something to keep in mind and to not get discouraged because there are dioceses and religious orders/communities that do accept such men, you just may have to look around a bit more and may not get your first choice.

Good points. We had a man in our diocese in this sitution. He had to get permission from the Vatican before he could be ordained. His ex-wife and children were still in the community so it may have been because of the danger of scandal.

willwhite07 · #13 Mar 10, '09, 7:42 pm

do you know the proper sponsership with the parish to first get before contacting the diocese?I am entering 1st year LPMI soon.I was told u dont complete the 2nd year if you are accepted? thanks

willwhite07 · #14 Mar 10, '09, 7:43 pm

no way no how,but i heard you can search other orders

**Friar David, O.Carm** · #15 Mar 11, '09, 7:03 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by willwhite07

do you know the proper sponsership with the parish to first get before contacting the diocese?I am entering 1st year LPMI soon.I was told u dont complete the 2nd year if you are accepted? thanks

LPMI?

Quote:

Originally Posted by willwhite07

no way no how,but i heard you can search other orders

What are you commenting on here?

It is good to use the quote button so that we can see which posts you are commenting on and who posted the original reply that you are commenting/replying to. Some users cut and paste the reply rather than using the quote button but I find that hard to follow so I tend to ignore those replies that do not use the quote feature when they are commenting on or replying to a post.