USA Africa Dialogue Series - Fwd: [Mwananchi] WHY DON'T WE SIMPLY STAND UP AS A SOCIETY AND BAN THIS CHURCH? Just asking !!!!!!!

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Date: Mon, 4 Mar 2013 17:35:59 -0500
Subject: [Mwananchi] WHY DON'T WE SIMPLY STAND UP AS A SOCIETY AND BAN
THIS CHURCH? Just asking !!!!!!!
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39 Popes Were Married!


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Cardinal Wamala doing his thingi: Urges youth to strenghten their faith

My name is Father John Shuster.I am a married Roman Catholic priest. Please
call me "John".

I want to tell you about a crisis in our Roman Catholic church. There is an
alarming shortage of celibate priests.

1 The shortage is so acute that many parishes are being forced to close.

2 At the same time, there are over twenty thousand married priests here in
the United States. To put that in better perspective, one out of every three
priests has married. That's a large number of priests available to staff
parishes – over four hundred priests, on average, per state. Married priests
are still priests, but we are no longer clerics.Let's examine the difference
between a priest and a cleric. A priest is engaged in a vocation of service,
a spiritual calling from God. A cleric occupies an organizational position
in the institutional church.When a priest marries, he is dismissed from the
clerical state. But he retains the fullness of the priesthood. He should be
referred to as an "ex-cleric." Many mistakenly use the term "ex-priest". He
is ordained to be a priest, not a cleric. Ordination is permanent. This fact
is validated by church law, Canon 290.

Twenty-one church laws entitle Catholics to utilize married priests. In
marriage, by virtue of Canon 290, our education, our ordination and 12
centuries of Roman Catholic tradition, priests retain the role of
administering to people as Jesus did.

We married priests have NOT abandoned our faith. We continue to help
Catholics in need and look forward to our full reinstatement when the
man-made law of celibacy is rescinded.

At the threshold of the millennium, thirty percent of all priests are now
married. It is felt that God is calling us back to our original Roman
Catholic tradition. And, since society has finally recognized their
equality, it is time the church granted women equality for pastoral service.
In fact, many married priests and their wives minister as a couple.

Married Priests in the Early Church

History fully supports a married priesthood. For the first 1200 years of the
Church's existence, priests, bishops and 39 popes were married.

3 Celibacy existed in the first century among hermits and monks, but it was
considered an optional, alternative lifestyle. Medieval politics brought
about the discipline of mandatory celibacy for priests.Let's remember the
words of Jesus: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church."
St. Peter, the pope who was closest to Jesus, was married. There are three
references in the Gospel about St. Peter's wife, his mother-in-law and his
family. Based on Jewish law and custom, we can safely assume that all of the
Apostles, except for young John, were married with families.

4 Married priests and their spouses were the first pastors, the first
bishops, the first missionaries. They carried the message of Jesus across
cultures and protected it through many hardships. They guided the fragile
young Church through its early growth and helped it survive numerous
persecutions. Pope John Paul II recognized this in 1993 when he said
publicly that celibacy is not essential to the priesthood.

5 This pronouncement offers great promise toward resolving the problem of
the shortage of celibate priests.

The early Church was a network of small family-based communities throughout
the Mediterranean region. Life was marked by a sense of joyful expectation.
Jesus said that he would return and the first Christians believed that it
would be soon. Led by married priests, they met at each other's homes to
celebrate the Mass. Strangers were invited to share the bread and wine. No
one was excluded from receiving Communion. The strangers soon became
friends, joined the young Church, and brought others to hear the good news
of Jesus.Sacred Scripture documents that priests and bishops of the early
Church were married. In the New Testament, in his first letter to Timothy,
chapter 3, verses 1 through 7, St. Paul discusses the qualities necessary
for a bishop. He describes a "kind and peaceable" father, a man with a
family. As part of his description, St. Paul even asks the question, "…how
can any man who does not understand how to manage his own family have
responsibility for the church of God?" St. Paul established many small
communities and left them in the hands of married priests and bishops.

Church leadership was based in service and was accountable to the people.
Each member of the church had a voice in the community. As we read in the
Acts of the Apostles, chapter 15, verse 22, group decisions were made in
agreement with the whole assembly. The early Church is portrayed as
democratic, where leadership listened to the community and responded to its
needs.

Roman Influence in the Church

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FATHER JOHN SHUSTER, MARRIED ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST

How did we evolve to the large institution that we have today? What happened
to the married priesthood? It began in AD 313, when the Roman emperor
Constantine legalized Christianity within the Roman Empire. With his
legislation, the early Church evolved from a persecuted group of small
communities to become the official faith of a world power under Emperor
Theodosius in AD 380.

Constantine's intentions in adopting Christianity were not entirely
spiritual.

6 His position was being challenged by political groups; he needed to
display his power. Forcing other politicians to become Christians was a test
of their loyalty.Constantine used the new religion as an effective tool to
weed out his enemies. It strengthened his political power. Constantine also
was faced with unifying the many peoples his armies had vanquished.
Christianity was the key to establishing a new Roman identity in the
conquered peoples. On the surface he made them Christians to save their
souls, but this new religion was his final act of conquest over them.

With Christianity now the official religion of the Roman Empire, many things
changed very quickly in the Church. Priests from the small communities were
given special social rank among their new Roman friends. They no longer had
to hide from Roman soldiers and fear for their lives. Instead, they received
pay for their services as priests and enjoyed special privileges in Roman
society. Bishops were given civil authority and assigned jurisdiction over
the people in their area.

7 Romans, who were members of the local ruling elite, quickly converted to
Christianity as ordered by the Emperor. These were men trained in public
life and skilled in city politics.

8 They became priests and rapidly moved into positions of leadership in the
Church.

These Roman politicians, with their newly acquired priesthood, brought the
impersonal and legalistic attitudes of government to the Church. The
celebration of the Eucharist moved from small home gatherings to what we now
call "mass" involving huge numbers of people in large buildings. The
celebration of the Eucharist became a highly structured ritual that imitated
the ceremonies of Rome's imperial court. This Roman influence is the source
of our vestments, genuflection, kneeling, and the strict formality of
Mass.An institutional Church structure emerged mirroring that of the Roman
government. Large buildings, church tribunal courts, rulers and subjects
began to replace the family-based small communities that were served by a
local married priesthood. The new Roman priests worked to shift authority
away from the married priests in the small communities and consolidate
political power around themselves. With the assistance of the Roman Empire,
Church leadership became a hierarchy that moved away from its family origins
and into the Roman mindset of a ruling class that was above the people in
the street.

9 Other changes occurred that shifted emphasis away from the people and
towards the preferences of the Roman politicians. The Church adopted the
Roman practice of men alone holding institutional authority. There is solid
historical evidence that women served as priests and pastors prior to this
time.

10 Women Priests in the Early Church

In 494 women's participation in the leadership of small communities came to
an end when Pope Gelasius decreed that women could no longer be ordained to
the priesthood.

11 This legislation is perhaps the strongest proof we have of women serving
as spiritual leaders in the early Church. Women's roles in the church
diminished as popes and bishops marched in lockstep with the Roman
authorities.

Mandatory Celibacy: Attack on Women and Intimacy

With time, celibacy took on the status of a special spirituality. Certain
factions promoted it by denigrating the holiness of marriage and family
life. The Roman practice of abstaining from marital relations to conserve
energy before a battle or a sporting event found its way into liturgical
practice. Priests were ordered to abstain from intimacy with their wives the
night before they celebrated Mass. The resultant message was that sexuality
and marriage were no longer holy.

Celibacy became yet another political opportunity in the hands of ambitious
priests and bishops. They used the celibate lifestyle as a political tool to
lessen the influence of the married priests. A negative attitude towards
women and sexuality began to emerge from the hierarchy that stood in stark
contrast to the healthy family perspective that was central to the early
Church.

12 This estblished celibacy as the highest state of holiness and the
eventual suppression of the married priesthood.

For example, in 366, Pope Damasus began the assault on the married
priesthood by declaring that priests could continue to marry, but that they
were not allowed to express their love sexually with their wives.

13 The priests and people alike rejected this law. In the year 385, Pope
Siricius abandoned his own wife and children in order to gain his papal
position. He immediately decreed that all priests could no longer be
married, but he was unable to enforce compliance to his outrageous new law.

14 Over the next 1,000 years, an unnatural sexual ethic emerged in the
Church's developing theology. This new legalistic preoccupation with
sexuality was antagonistic to normal human relationships and out of step
with the natural order of life as established by God. It continued to be
very derogatory towards women.In 401, St. Augustine wrote that "Nothing is
so powerful in drawing the spirit of a man downwards as the caresses of a
woman."

15 The evolving attitude against sexuality and women was designed to control
the intimate aspects of people's lives, and this dynamic continues to the
present day. Because they were family men, married priests could see the
political agenda behind the hierarchy's obsession with sexuality. Married
priests stood in solidarity with the people and did their best to stave off
the Roman hierarchy's continued efforts to gain power and control over them
and their families.Holy Communion Ended for Divorced/Remarried Catholics

The ordinary people suffered the most as this trend continued. By the
twelfth century, a negative and legalistic mindset pervaded the Church's
hierarchy. Celibate bishops and priests put great emphasis on sin and guilt
in an effort to establish uniformity and control. It was during this period
of Church history that marriage after divorce was declared to be a sin.
Those who were divorced and remarried were no longer permitted to receive
the Blessed Sacrament. Up to this time, marriages were adjudicated,
consentually dissolved, and individuals were free to marry again, and free
to receive Holy Communion.

16 Another political dynamic was at play here. The medieval church hierarchy
was in a power struggle with the many monarchies and royal families across
Europe. With the ability to control royal marriages, Rome realized that it
could influence political alliances and manipulate affairs of state.

Description: http://johnshuster.com/frjohn/fam2.JPG

Our Family: Nate, John, Sally, & Kellen

17 As a result of this new effort to control royal alliances, being barred
from Communion and the sacraments immediately punished ordinary people who
divorced and re-married. They were denied full participation in the life of
the Church because they did not comply to the will of church authorities.
Legal status replaced spirituality as the benchmark for holiness and good
standing in the institutional Church, and that is still a powerful influence
today.

Infallibility — a Man-made Concept

In this growing atmosphere of power and legalism, certain medieval popes
abused their authority.

18 In the year 1075, Pope Gregory VII declared that nobody could judge a
pope except God. Introducing the concept of infallibility, he was the first
pope to decree that Rome can never be in error. He had statues made in his
likeness and placed them in churches throughout Europe. He insisted that
everyone must obey the pope, and that all popes are saints by virtue of
their association with St. Peter.

19 The hierarchy viewed married priests as an obstacle to their quest for
total control of the church and focused a two pronged attack against them.
They used mandatory celibacy to attack and dissolve the influential priestly
families throughout Europe and the Mediterranean world. At the same time
they claimed ownership of the churches and the lands owned by married
priests. As landowners the medieval hierarchy knew that they would gain the
political power they sought in every country in Europe. An additional
benefit of land ownership was money. They now had the ability to collect
taxes from the faithful and charge money for indulgences and other
sacramental ministry.

20 This practice contributed to the Protestant reformation and the
splintering of the Roman Catholic church community in the sixteenth century.

In the eleventh century, the attacks against the married priesthood grew in
intensity. In 1074, Pope Gregory VII legislated that anyone to be ordained
must first pledge celibacy. Continuing his attack against women, he publicly
stated that "…the Church cannot escape from the clutches of the laity unless
priests first escape the clutches of their wives".

21 Within twenty years, things took a turn for the worse.

In the year 1095, there was an escalation of brutal force against married
priests and their families. Pope Urban II ordered that married priests who
ignored the celibacy laws be imprisoned for the good of their souls. He had
the wives and children of those married priests sold into slavery, and the
money went to church coffers.

22 The effort to consolidate church power in the medieval hierarchy and to
seize the land assets the married priest families saw its victory in 1139.
The legislation that effectively ended optional celibacy for priests came
from the Second Lateran Council under Pope Innocent II.

23 The true motivation for these laws was the desire to acquire land
throughout Europe and strengthen the papal power base. The laws demanding
mandatory celibacy for priests used the language of purity and holiness, but
their true intent was to solidify control over the lower clergy and
eliminate any challenge to the political objectives of the medieval
hierarchy.

"Priests will commit sins far worse than fornication."

One brave man, the Italian bishop Ulric of Imola, argued that the hierarchy
had no right to forbid marriage to priests and urged bishops and priests not
to abandon their families. Bishop Ulrich said that, "When celibacy is
imposed, priests will commit sins far worse than fornication."

24 The recent number of highly publicized convictions of priests involved in
sexual misconduct have given credence to good Bishop Ulric. Scientific
evidence is emerging that shows mandatory celibacy is connected to sexual
abuse by priests. For a copy of this research, call 1-800-PRIEST-9.

The respected tradition of the married priesthood was virtually destroyed by
the new celibacy laws. The healthy family origins of our faith withered with
the suppression of the married priesthood and the devaluation of women in
the Church.

110,000 Married Priests Worldwide

Many of the problems we face in the Church today can be traced back to this
period of our Church history. But, as we approach the end of the 20th
century, God seems to be calling us back to the wholesomeness of our origins
as a Church. In the past 25 years, over 100,000 Roman Catholic priests,
worldwide, have married and many have discreetly continued to practice their
priesthood. One out of every three Roman Catholic priests in the United
States today is a married priest, and the number of priests getting married
continues to grow.

Marriage has given these priests a new perspective. They practice their
priesthood with a deeper compassion for people and the challenges they face.
Married priest couples visit the elderly in nursing homes when no celibate
priest is available. Married priests care for couples who have been turned
away for whatever reason from their local parish. Married priests understand
the special needs of Catholics who have been divorced and want to enter into
good second marriages. The public has indicated that they like their gentle
style and their practical approach to life's problems.

Women, particularly, are often deeply moved by the honesty and respect
married priests show their wives, and by the sensitivity and support they
show for women's issues.

70% of American Catholics Want Married Priests

In order to transition from celibacy to marriage, priests are given no other
option but to sign papers from the Vatican that infer that they never really
had a vocation to the priesthood, that they are psychologically unstable, or
morally weak. Just the opposite is true. Married priests have acted in
unison with the Spirit of God and responded to their expanded calling with
conviction and love. Many American Catholics have formally recognized their
courage, especially those who have reached them through the Rent A Priest
program. In national polls, 70 percent of Catholics want their priests who
have married to resume their work as married priests in the Roman Catholic
Church.

25 They have been impressed with the integrity of married priests and the
compassionate understanding they show to people who are caught in difficult
situations.

"Celibacy is not essential to the Priesthood." Pope John Paul IIBesides the
statement of Pope John Paul II that celibacy is not essential to the
priesthood, there has been another promising development from the Vatican
concerning married Catholic priests. Most Catholics are unaware that Rome is
ordaining married Protestant ministers into the priesthood and assigning
them to parishes here in the United States. In some instances, these
Protestant ministers, now Catholic priests, replaced priests forced to leave
their parishes because they got married. Rome is allowing them to remain
married and providing support for their families. Studies show that the cost
of supporting a married priest family is sometimes less than a celibate with
his housekeeper and other assistants.

The Vatican Ordains Married Protestant Ministers

The majority of these new married Catholic priests are Episcopalians who
have left their tradition because of the decision of the Church of England
in favor of woman's ordination. In ordaining to the priesthood over 100
married Protestant ministers, the Vatican has, in effect, re-established the
married priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church. They have acted upon the
Pope's statement that celibacy is not necessary for priesthood. By ordaining
married Protestant ministers to the priesthood, the Vatican has changed the
rules. In doing so, it has set a precedent that Catholics can now use
married priests for Mass and the sacraments, and there are church laws that
allow this.

By its own example, Rome has clearly announced to the world a new public
acceptance of married Catholic priests in the Church.Mandatory celibacy is
truly a man-made rule, a discipline, just like the old rule forbidding altar
girls. These disciplinary practices are not necessary to our faith as Roman
Catholics. Such rules can and have been changed. Today we are faced with
parish closures because of the celibacy rule. With the stroke of a pen, the
Vatican could lift the mandatory celibacy discipline for all of the priests.
In doing so, they could mobilize over 110,000 married Catholic priest
couples worldwide and re-open every parish they have been forced to close.

Pope John Paul II is working on another initiative that involves married
priests. There are close to 20 different rites in the universal Church.
Perhaps you've heard of the Byzantine Catholic Church, the Chaldean rite,
the Coptic rite. Not all of these rites are in communion with Rome, and Pope
John Paul II is trying to unify all rites into one Church family. Most of
the Eastern rites have kept the tradition of a married priesthood over the
centuries, and they will want to continue with a married priesthood in any
new alliance.Pope John Paul's declaration that celibacy is not necessary for
the priesthood has the double benefit of solving the clergy shortage in our
Roman tradition and laying the groundwork for a comprehensive and agreeable
Church unity world-wide. The future of the Church holds many promising
developments, and married Catholic priests will play a key role in their
implementation.

Canon Laws: The Public Must Do The Asking

Each church law is referred to as a canon. This body of church laws was
formed soon after the imposition of mandatory celibacy. It seems that the
holy monk Gratian, who formulated Canon Law, was aware of the unjust
persecution of married priests and their families. I believe that he wrote
laws into the code that would protect them and allow for the restoration of
the married priesthood one day. There are twenty one church laws that give
you permission to ask a married priest couple for help. I would like to
touch on two of these church laws and explain how you can use them to help
you feel comfortable in calling upon married priests.

Canon 290 is very special.

26 It talks about the permanence of ordination to the priesthood. I quote:
"After it has been validly received sacred ordination never becomes
invalid". This canon confirms that married Catholic priests are still valid
priests in good standing. The sacraments that married priests provide for
you are valid sacraments. Many people think that if a priest marries, that
he is excommunicated and is no longer a priest. As Canon 290 tells us, that
is not true. It is in the spirit of Canon 290 that we refer to ourselves as
"married Roman Catholic priests".

You might be told that sacraments from married priests are valid, but not
licit. That is technically correct, and I would like to provide an example
that explains the distinction between the terms "valid" and "licit". I'll
use a medical analogy to clarify this issue. Let's imagine that a doctor
from New Mexico is flying to Chicago for a conference. He lands at O'Hare
International airport, rents a car, and on the way to the hotel he witnesses
a traffic accident. A man is thrown from his car and is bleeding profusely
from a laceration on his arm. The doctor rushes to the victim's aid, stops
the bleeding and stabilizes his new patient until the ambulance arrives. The
doctor's help in this emergency situation is "valid" because he is a
practicing physician, who has been properly trained, and holds a degree from
an accredited school of medicine. At the same time, the doctor's help to the
accident victim is not "licit" because he does not hold a license to
practice medicine in the State of Illinois.

This is the difference between valid and licit action. You can be sure that
the accident victim was glad that a "valid" doctor was there to help him
when he needed it the most.Catholics who can't find an available priest or
one willing to help them are now calling upon married Catholic priests with
this same understanding of their validity under Church law. Married priests
are people who received a divine calling to priesthood from God. They
successfully completed years of seminary training and were validly ordained
by Roman Catholic bishops. They have graduate degrees in theology and other
related fields.Because of Canon 290, you can be assured that the sacraments
married priests provide are as valid as those provided by a celibate priest
at any Roman Catholic parish. People who have been helped by married
Catholic priests believe that their priesthood is most certainly valid in
the eyes of God.

The Golden Canon

Canon 1752 has been referred to as the "golden rule" of Church law. It
states,: "…the salvation of souls…is always the supreme law of the Church."
It would seem that this canon makes it quite clear that all of the Church's
laws and efforts exist to serve the spiritual needs of the People of God.
Any laws which work against this primary objective are, in effect,
counter-productive and consequently of questionable validity. If the
man-made rule of mandatory celibacy for priests is keeping you from
receiving the sacraments, then the celibacy rule is working against the
primary mission of the Church.

This understanding of the Church's golden rule places the married priesthood
in an entirely new light. It also allows you to share in our common
authority and responsibility for the Church's future.From the viewpoint of
Church law, we are in a state of emergency because the shortage of celibate
priests is closing parishes and threatening the availability of Mass and the
sacraments which are the essential activities of the Church.

27 A reversal of this shortage of celibate priests is quite unlikely for the
future. In fact, all studies which have been done, including those sponsored
by our own United States National Conference of Catholic Bishops, indicate
that the crisis will only grow worse in the years ahead. There will be fewer
and older celibate priests to serve increasingly larger numbers of
Catholics.

The merging or closing of parishes is not an acceptable answer to this
crisis. The Rent-A-Priest program is a creative initiative available to
Catholics who are caught in this growing crisis. Many parish communities
feel that re-instating the 20,000 plus married Catholic priests here in the
United States is a good and effective solution because it has solid
historical and theological precedent and is clearly provided for by Church
law.

Bishops Quietly Applaud

Our American bishops deal with the shortage of celibate priests every day.
One out of four bishops have said, off the record, that they are ready to
welcome married priests back with open arms. America's bishops are good
leaders who want the best for their people. They are aware that there are
400 married priests, on average, in every state. Working together, married
priests and the remaining celibate priests can stop the parish closures.
Side by side, they could dramatically improve the availability of Mass and
the sacraments. Many of America's bishops want to stop wasting the education
and experience that married priests have to offer the Church.

Every bishop has received information about the Rent-A-Priest program.
Several bishops have encouraged us to continue promoting the married
priesthood because it is a Church tradition that practice becomes custom and
custom becomes law. This is already being done with the acceptance of
married Protestant ministers into the priesthood, and Pope John Paul's
declaration that celibacy is not necessary to the priesthood. The next step
is for people to begin to ask married priest couples for pastoral care.You
may not be aware of the many changes in the church that have taken place
through the people – from the ground up, instead of the top down.

Altar girls are a recent example. Many parishes trained girls as well as
boys to be servers at Mass. The Vatican issued a ruling against the use of
altar girls in 1987. Because of non-acceptance of this regulation and the
continued use of altar girls around the world, the Vatican relented and
relaxed the ruling. Practice becomes custom and custom becomes law. As more
and more Catholics call upon married priests to provide them with the
sacraments, this practice will bring the full reinstatement of married
Catholic priests, an end to the parish closures, and better sacramental care
for all Catholics.

We've covered a lot of ground on this tape, so let's summarize. Our message
is simple and straightforward. As a Roman Catholic, you have the right to
call upon married Catholic priests for Mass and the sacraments. The
Rent-A-Priest program is a pastoral ministry of married Roman Catholic
priests. We are offering our priesthood to meet the spiritual needs of
today's Catholics. We share the same goals as our bishops: to guarantee that
all Catholics have full access to Mass and the sacraments, and to work so
that all Catholics experience the fullness of our Catholic tradition. These
are the primary and the essential activities of the Church. When Rome
formally reinstates all of us married Catholic priests to full participation
in the Church, we will work in coordination with our bishops and our brother
celibate priests who need our assistance. Until that day comes, we will use
the pastoral provisions for married priests granted by 21 Canon Laws to
serve any and all Roman Catholics who ask for our help. Through the
Rent-A-Priest program, married Catholic priest couples are bringing the Mass
and the sacraments into Catholic homes across the country.

Rent-A-Priest: A referral program with a catchy name

The Rent-A-Priest program was started in 1992 by Louise Haggett, a
traditional Catholic businesswoman. Louise couldn't find a priest to visit
her mother in a senior assisted-living center. She was surprised to later
discover that so many married Catholic priests would be available to help
her, if only she knew how to find them and how to ask for their help. Louise
founded an organization called "Celibacy Is The Issue" and started the
Rent-A-Priest free referral service so that all Catholics, especially the
elderly, would never be without a priest. She chose the catchy name
"Rent-A-Priest" because it is easy to remember – especially in a crisis
situation.

As a result of her efforts, thousands of Catholics have received pastoral
care from married priests and are learning things about our Church's history
that they never knew before.I want to stress that the Rent-A-Priest program
is a free referral service. The Rent-A-Priest initiative goes from month to
month on the private donations of everyday Catholics like you. We maintain a
computerized database of married Catholic priests across the United States.
You can personally access this database 24 hours a day through our web site
at www.rentapriest.com. You can also call our 800 number: 1-800-PRIEST-9.
When you call, please leave your name, address, phone number and a brief
description of the help that you need. We will be happy to send you
information along with a list of the married Roman Catholic priests in your
area. You can then contact your own local married priests directly.

You can also write us a letter. Address it to Rent-A-Priest, P.O. Box 2850,
Framingham, MA, 01703. If you have email capability, our email address is
rntapriest@aol.com. It might be wise to learn who your local married priests
are so that you will be prepared for unforeseen circumstances. Get to know
the married Catholic priests in your area and keep their phone numbers
handy.

If you need a priest, you'll have more than one option if a situation
arises.If the Sunday or daily Mass you've been accustomed to attending is no
longer available due to the shortage of celibate priests, you have the legal
right to call a married Catholic priest. If you are contemplating marriage
or re-marriage, and have been turned away by the institutional Church, a
married Catholic priest is available to provide you with a Roman Catholic
ceremony that is fully recognized by civil authorities. If your loved one
has no parish priest available for Communion and Anointing of the Sick, call
a married Catholic priest for help.Jesus always put people first. When faced
with situations where he had to choose between obeying the dictates of the
law and responding to human need, he always put people's needs above the law
and acted quickly to help them. Jesus never turned anyone away, and neither
will married Catholic priests. Thank you for taking the time to listen to
this message. May God bless us all!

["39 Popes Were Married!" was written and recorded by Father John Shuster.
It was produced by Celibacy Is The Issue. This tape is copyrighted, but it
can be freely duplicated in its entirety and distributed without profit so
that the truth about the married Catholic priesthood can be made available
to everyone. This tape is also available in printed form with footnotes and
a bibliography. Tax deductible contributions may be sent to CITI, PO Box
2850, Framingham, MA 01703. Our newsletter, Come As You Are, is written by
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FOOTNOTES

1. Commonweal. October 11, 1991.

2. The Journal for the Scientific Study of Religions. December 1990.

3. Kelly, J. N. D. Oxford Dictionary of Popes. New York, Oxford Press. 1986.

4. Padovano, A. Joseph's Son. National Catholic Reporter. April 12, 1996.5.
Time Magazine. July 1993.

6. Grant, M. Constantine the Great: The Man and His Times. New York, Charles
Scribner and Sons. 1993.

7. Straus, B. R. The Catholic Church. David and Charles, England. P. 37.

8. Torjesen, K. J. When Women Were Priests. Harper San Francisco. 1993. P.
155.

9. Straus, B. R. The Catholic Church. David and Charles, England. P. 34.

10. Torjesen, K. J. When Women Were Priests. Harper San Francisco. 1993. P.
34.

11. Padovano, A. Power, Sex, and Church Structures. A lecture presented at
Call To Action, Chicago. 1994.

12. Ranke-Heinemann. Eunuchs For The Kingdom Of Heaven. Doubleday. New York.
1990. P. 100 ff.

13. Barstow, A. L. Married Priests and the Reforming Papacy: The
Eleventh-Century Debates. The Edward Mellen Press. Lewiston, NY. 1982. P.
21.

14. Padovano, A. Power, Sex, and Church Structures. A lecture presented at
Call To Action, Chicago. 1994.

15. Padovano, A. Ibid.

16. Mackin, Theodore. Divorce and Remarriage. Paulist Press. 1984. P. 116.

17. Mortimer, R. Angevin England 1154 – 1258. Blackwell. Oxford, U. K. P.
28.

18. Padovano, A. Power, Sex, and Church Structures. A lecture presented at
Call To Action, Chicago. 1994.

19. Padovano, A. Ibid.

20. Mortimer, R. Angevin England 1154 – 1258. Blackwell. Oxford, U. K. P.
105-112.

21. Padovano, A. Power, Sex, and Church Structures. A lecture presented at
Call To Action, Chicago. 1994.

22. Ranke-Heinemann. Eunuchs For The Kingdom Of Heaven. Doubleday. New York.
1990. P. 110.

23. Celibacy, Canon Law of. The New Catholic Encyclopedia. New York. McGraw
Hill. 1967.

24. Barstow, A. L. Married Priests and the Reforming Papacy: The
Eleventh-Century Debates. The Edward Mellen Press. Lewiston, NY. 1982. P.
112.

25. Gallup Survey of Catholic Opinion, May 15 – 17. 1992.

26. Coriden, et. Al. The Code of Canon Law. Paulist Press. 1985.

27. Smolinski, D. Canonical Reflections on Pastoral Emergency and the Use of
Married Priests in the Catholic Church. Catholic Resource Center.
Framingham, MA. 1995.





Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
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