Meet the Jewish boy who grew up to be a married Catholic priest

I remember posting on (then-Deacon) Paul Schenck when he was ordained. He’s back in the news again;  a local paper in Pennsylvania covered his recent appearance at a Theology on Tap and discussed his work for pro-life causes:

The Rev. Paul Schenck is a married Catholic priest.

You may think that’s a poorly written sentence that should read “…a former Catholic priest who is now married.” But, no, Schenck, of York, really is a married Catholic priest, one of about 200 in the nation and another 200 worldwide. He and his wife, Becky, have been married 37 years and have nine children,  including “one in heaven.”

And that’s not all. Schenck, 57, was raised Jewish, converted to Christianity at age 16 and was a Protestant pastor for about 20 years before becoming Catholic in 2004.

And there’s more. Schenck served one month in prison and 18 months in home detention for leafleting and offering support to women and their companions at abortion clinics before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in his favor in the 1997 case of Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network of Western New York.

Ordained in the Catholic Church in 2010, Schenk has served as director of respect life activities and continuing education for clergy in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg since 2008 and chairs the Washington, D.C., National Pro-Life Center, an ecumenical mission at the Supreme Court, which he founded in 2004.

Wednesday evening, he spoke about his unusual faith journey at Theology on Tap, at Annie Bailey’s Irish Pub on East King Street. About 35 people attended and were so spellbound that they didn’t seem to move a muscle, except perhaps to widen their eyes or cover their mouths when they dropped open in shock and disbelief.

Ethan Demme, 32, of East Lampeter Township and a member of San Juan Bautista Catholic Church, South Duke Street, introduced Schenck at the social event for young adults, sponsored by the diocese and held about eight times a year on the second floor of the pub.

“It’s a very compelling story,” Demme said after Schenck spoke. “I really want to talk to him because I had a very similar journey.”

Read it all.  

Photo: from the Diocese of Harrisburg