Photo ~ Fr Dwight Longenecker, a former Anglican minister who entered the Roman Catholic Church in 1995. Fr. Dwight is an author, speaker, and parish priest serving at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Greenville, South Carolina.
Con: “We can’t afford married priests! Do you know how much it would cost to support a married man and his family!”
Pro: “Surely the question is not whether we could afford married priests, but whether we should. But let’s stop and consider that we already pay for celibate priests. It varies from diocese to diocese and around the world the situation will vary hugely according to different cultural conditions. Let’s just consider the American scene.
Many Catholics have no idea in the world what a priest is paid. Many imagine that we all take a vow of poverty and that we live day by day on faith. Some think the bishop pays us. He doesn’t the parish pays according to guidelines issued by the diocese.
Most celibate priests in American dioceses do pretty well. Here’s …More