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My colleague John wrote:
Additionally,
while the Eastern Rites do ordain
married men, they don't do so in
the West (this is an agreement
made with the Vatican). So you
wouldn't be able to do it and remain
in the Western rite even if they
allowed to switch Rites in order
to become a married priest.
While this is normally true, there
are various ways around this. Typically
the priest is ordained and incardinated
in the old country, and then "loaned" indefinitely
to the U.S. In fact, I've known some
married men ordained in the U.S.
by U.S. Eastern bishops. I also know
several formerly Roman married men
who became Byzantine Catholic priests
in the U.S.
One of them is Fr. Thomas
Steinmetz at Our Lady of the Cedars
Melkite Greek-Catholic Church in
Manchester, New Hampshire. Another
is Fr. Immanuel McCarthy, father
of the girl whose miraculous healing
was the requisite miracle for the
canonization of St. Edith Stein.
To transfer from one rite to another
requires a rescript from Rome. It
can only be done once. They
interview you and ask you
to explain your reasons. I think
it would behoove you if you want
to do this to develop a genuine interest
in Byzantine spirituality. After
all, you'd be ministering to Byzantine
Catholics if you ever got ordained.
I think they tend to prefer people
whose families are mature. As you
cannot marry once you are ordained,
they would not want a situation where
the mother died and there are young
children to take care of.
Finally, consider the divorce rate
among married Protestant pastors
and how much of a burden on their
families their ministry is. There
are good reasons for clerical celibacy.
Read what Fr. Ray Ryland, a married
Roman Catholic priest (and convert
from Episcopalianism), has to say
on the topic.
Eric
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