{"id":115938,"date":"2016-08-13T11:41:32","date_gmt":"2016-08-13T15:41:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aleteia.org\/?post_type=post&p=115938"},"modified":"2016-08-13T11:41:32","modified_gmt":"2016-08-13T15:41:32","slug":"will-the-next-synod-focus-on-ordaining-married-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2016\/08\/will-the-next-synod-focus-on-ordaining-married-men\/","title":{"rendered":"Will the next synod focus on ordaining married men?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

It should be noted: the Church is already<\/em> ordaining married men, both as priests and deacons.<\/p>\n

But the question needs to\u00a0be asked: should the Church ordain more of them, and make this practice more widespread? The need is great and will only grow in the next few decades, as more priests retire or enter eternal life.<\/p>\n

Austin Iverleigh has some thoughts in Crux:<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In much the way that access to the sacraments of the civilly divorced and remarried was the neuralgic question in the family synod \u2013 the issue around which disagreements coalesced \u2013 in a future synod on the ministries it will be the priestless parish.<\/p>\n

And just as there was a longstanding, controversial proposal in response to the divorced and remarried issue \u2013 Cardinal Walter Kasper\u2019s invitation to consider the Orthodox approach \u2013 there is one for priestless parishes.<\/p>\n

A solution has been kicked around the yard for many years by Fritz Lobinger, a retired German bishop who lives in Durban, South Africa.<\/p>\n

During 50 years in South Africa, and traveling to many parts of the world, he observed how many Christian communities in remote areas are led in practice by small groups of committed, mature lay people.<\/p>\n

His solution is to ordain them after a brief training, so that they can administer the sacraments within that community alone.<\/p>\n

These \u201clocally ordained ministers\u201d \u00a0\u2013 Lobinger says it is important not to call them priests, even though it would involve precisely the same sacrament of priestly ordination \u2013 would be, in effect, a parallel priesthood, complementary to the existing norm in the Latin rite of a celibate, seminary-trained priest sent by his bishop to different parishes or missions.<\/p>\n

Lobinger points to a precedent in Acts of the Apostles 14:23 when St Paul and Barnabas appointed\u00a0 \u2013 or ordained \u2013 \u201celders\u201d in the young Christian communities, the term referring not so much to the age of the people but their maturity or fitness for the task.<\/p>\n

These were teams of men who were not sent to their community but came out of it; who ministered to the community part-time, while continuing to work at their professions; and who had families.<\/p>\n

This shows, says Lobinger in a book published recently in Spanish, that the Church for a number of centuries ordained local leaders chosen by the local community, who had proven their worthiness over some time.<\/p>\n

Francis has given many signals of his willingness to open up the question of ordaining married men, even encouraging local Churches to put forward proposals.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read it all<\/strong>. <\/a>There\u2019s much more background and analysis.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It should be noted: the Church is already ordaining married men, both as priests and deacons. But the question needs to\u00a0be asked: should the Church ordain more of them, and make this practice more widespread? The need is great and will only grow in the next few decades, as more priests retire or enter eternal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":105004,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWill the next synod focus on ordaining married men?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It should be noted: the Church is already ordaining married men, both as priests and deacons. 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