Can I Become a Priest, If I Have an Illegitimate Child?

Posted on May 4, 2023 by Cathy Caridi

Q1: I have been discerning a call to the priesthood … [and] I have met with the vocations director and the bishop of this diocese.  The bishop said I cannot be ordained a priest because I have a child out of wedlock, from a relationship which ended years ago.  I changed my life after that time, and live fully in accord with God’s laws … can I really be barred from the priesthood because I have a child? –Raoul

Q2: I was once engaged, never married, … the engagement ended for mutual reasons. I’ve always been drawn to the priesthood, I feel like this is my calling.  Am I still eligible for the priesthood if I was engaged but never married? –Jim Continue reading →

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Can a Laicized Priest Return to the Priesthood?

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Cathy Caridi

Q:  I was ordained a priest for the Diocese of X, and then left the priesthood to get married.  Here I am sixteen years later, the marriage ended, no children.  I have been reassessing my life … [and concluding that] it was a bad decision overall…..  I really want to return to active ministry if it is at all possible.

Does canon law permit this?  And if so, does it ever happen in practice?  If it can be done, I assume I will have to schedule a meeting with the current diocesan bishop, but I don’t want to ask for an appointment if there is no point in it.  Any information you could provide would be appreciated …. –James Continue reading →

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Is Confession Still an Easter Duty? (Repost)

Posted on April 6, 2023 by Cathy Caridi

(Lately, given the season, there have been quite a lot of web-searches for “Easter duty” leading readers to this site–so it seems feasible to repost this piece again for everyone.  A blessed Easter to all!)

Q: When I was a kid, everyone was required during Lent to make his “Easter Duty.” Every parishioner received a card from the parish. When we went to confession before Easter, we handed the card to the priest. By Easter he had a huge stack of cards, showing which parishioners had made their Easter Duty and who hadn’t. But nowadays, people hardly ever go to confession like they used to, and nobody ever talks about Easter Duty. Has this requirement been abolished like so many other things? –Janet Continue reading →

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Refusing a Funeral Mass to a Non-Parishioner

Posted on March 23, 2023 by Cathy Caridi

Q: At our parish the priest is very strict.  If you aren’t registered as a parishioner, he won’t say a funeral Mass for you.  However, he will let you have a funeral service with the deacon if you pay hundreds of dollars.

After reading your post “Stipends and Sacraments,” I now wonder if our priest is violating the law by insisting on the price for a funeral service.  Or does that law not apply here because a funeral is not a sacrament?  Or does the law not apply if the person isn’t a registered parishioner? –Carlos Continue reading →

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Episcopal Celibacy and the Case of Bishop Antony

Posted on February 23, 2023 by Cathy Caridi

Q: Many priests and people of Mysore Diocese [in India] begged the Vatican for years to investigate the scandalous activities of their Bishop William Antony.  The Bishop has many different mistresses and illegitimate children, and has [allegedly] stolen money from the Church.  Some diocesan priests who complained were murdered.

The Bishop has some supporters, but we assume he has bribed them to say positive things about him.  One of his supporters says that the Bishop has no mistress, he has a respectable wife because he received a dispensation from the Pope to get married.  We would like to know if this could be possible in canon law.  Why would Rome permit a bishop to marry a woman and have a family, when all our priests are required to be celibate?  If this is true, we do not understand the purpose in it…. –Mona Continue reading →

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