Your soul mate : a priest

I’m Rosalie and my priest’s name is Jeremy. We met 10 years ago, although I already knew him as a child. He is an orthodox priest monk of very high level. I was extremely suffering from traumas and a hard life. Everybody had abandoned me. It was absolutely emergency situation! So I asked him to be with me as long as I do not have anybody else. He immediately agreed. I needed a person really involved with me, not just counselling!!!

https://maltesemarriedcatholicpriest.wordpress.com/2019/01/21/your-soul-mate-a-priest/ 

A priest-in-love writes to us!

Finally we have a priest who is speaking about his heart adventures!! Well, I’m not promising anyone that he is going to answer all questions or any questions at all. At least we can have a glimpse about how he seas this new person in his life. Maybe some day in the future he will continue to reveal more about his life in the parish. Obviously we are hiding his identity for practical purposes. I’m Gabriel, a Catholic priest in my late 50s. I was ordained when I was in my mid-20s. I’m 5 foot 10 inches (1.8 metres) tall. I’m fit and lean: a testament to the control I use when choosing only clean living and what goes into my body.

https://maltesemarriedcatholicpriest.wordpress.com/2018/09/03/a-priest-in-love-writes-to-us/ 

Meet the 71-year-old Catholic priest who wants his church to repeal the celibacy rule

A CONTROVERSIAL Catholic priest has claimed the vow of celibacy is one of the causes of clerical child abuse and called on the church to repeal the ancient law. Father Tony Flannery will deliver a lecture at the University of Edinburgh next month entitled “Celibacy, sexuality and the crisis in the priesthood” when he will also demand the ordination of women.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15902401.Meet_the_71_year_old_Catholic_priest_who_wants_the_church_to_repeal_the_celibacy_rule/

Women haters

2018...new year and new expectations. Many people are already asking: is this the year in which Pope Francis will allow married priests? We are used to times, dates and schedules. Well the Holy Spirit does not work in a time frame! Surprisingly He knows when it’s the best time to help the church grow in certain aspects. We are all in a journey. We grow through experiences, thoughts, questions, encounters, prayer, reflection etc… We can’t promise anybody that this year we’re going to have married priests officially. But it doesn’t mean that if not, the process would have been stopped! In a flick of a second, what is considered impossible may become possible! Let’s remember that very hard experience of Moses. Who would face the pharoah (like a powerful king), to tell him to liberate the slaves? Facing the pharoah could have meant death...let alone proposing such an out of the box question!! It took him a long time to let the people of God out of Egypt, yet at one moment he seemed to have said yes...only to change his mind again after a few days!

https://maltesemarriedcatholicpriest.wordpress.com/tag/women-haters/

The hidden challenges ahead

In the Catholic church we have witnessed centuries of blind obedience. We were practically trained in order to follow rules. We were always presented with a long list of what to do and what not to do. Everything was very clear….there was the truth, and there was the lie. If one tried to go against the tide, one would have sunk immediately. There was the middle age image that if one goes against the rule of the church, one would be penniless because people would make a boycott against all his professional activity.

https://maltesemarriedcatholicpriest.wordpress.com/2017/12/04/the-hidden-challenges-ahead/ 

The Father professor and his student

I’m Adele. When I was twenty, I met Fr. Karol. He was my professor first, and our friendship, relationship, whatever you want to call it, took place over about nine months. We got to know each other slowly because his class was a lecture, so he didn’t have much interaction with students. But I made a point of bringing him food, and asking him how he was doing because while he was all passion and jubilance in public, he’d make off comments in class which suggested he was lonely—he was a foreigner in a new country, after all.

https://maltesemarriedcatholicpriest.wordpress.com/2017/11/20/the-father-professor-and-his-student/ 

'We carry negativity in our bodies': Therapy sessions for priests affected by abuse scandals

AN IRISH PRIESTS group is launching therapy sessions for its members whose morale has been affected by sexual abuse scandals within the Catholic Church.
The Association of Catholic Priests will run its first Circle of Healing session in Cork on 28 November, as part of its move to help churchmen affected by the Church’s scandals, including those who have been wrongly accused of sexual abuse.

http://www.thejournal.ie/therapy-priests-sexual-abuse-3695958-Nov2017/ 

Study Confirms 'Culture of Celibacy' to Blame for Catholic Pedophile Priests

A major 5-year study into the pedophile epidemic within the Catholic Church has revealed that the mandatory celibacy and culture of secrecy is to blame for the unprecedented number of child sex abuse incidents among the male clergy.
This tradition of cover-ups and a forced "celibate" lifestyle for clerics in the male-dominated Catholic Church are "the major precipitating risk factor[s] for child sexual abuse", according to the study.

http://www.nnettle.com/features/1166-study-confirms-culture-of-celibacy-to-blame-for-catholic-pedophile-priests

Married priests

It is possible that in the not too distant future, we will be seeing married priests administering to the Roman Catholic faithful in this country.
Brazilian Claudio Cardinal Hummes, who is a friend of Pope Francis, requested the Pope to lift the ban on the ordination of married men specifically for Brazil which is the largest Roman Catholic country in the world.

http://thestandard.com.ph/opinion/columns/duty-calls-by-florencio-fianza/251282/married-priests.html 

I had to restrain myself in order not to leap up and kiss him !

My name is Audrey. My priest’s name is Joe. I’ve had a massive crush on one of the younger priests at my parish for several years now (for the record, I’m 26 and he’s 31). A while back, I asked him to be my spiritual director, and since then, he’s answered many of my questions and concerns and helped me discern several personal issues I’ve been struggling with. On the surface, our relationship overall has been reasonably normal. However, I’m “secretly” absolutely head over heels for him, and it’s not solely because he’s a priest as I’ve never crushed on any other clergy (I work for the parish, so I know/have known/have interacted with many.) In fact, he’s the only person I’ve truly been attracted to in over 7 years.

https://maltesemarriedcatholicpriest.wordpress.com/2017/10/23/i-had-to-restrain-myself-in-order-not-to-leap-up-and-kiss-him/ 

Legionaries pledge renewal as former rector admits fathering children

If a priest fathers a child, he has a moral obligation to step aside from ministry and provide for the care and needs of the mother and the child' The Legionaries of Christ pledged its ongoing commitment to renewal and reform as it released information about a former rector who has publicly acknowledged being the father of two children.
Legionaries Father Oscar Turrion - who served as rector of the order's seminary in Rome - informed his superiors of "his intention to leave priestly ministry" in light of the recent revelations, the order said in an online communique on 6 October.

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/7886/0/legionaries-pledge-renewal-as-former-rector-admits-fathering-children

Celibacy and secrecy drive Catholic Church child abuse, report claims

Enforced celibacy and secrecy are the major factors in why child abuse is so ;prevalent; in the Catholic Church around the world, a major new report claims.
Examining the findings of inquiries, police records and church reports since 1985, the study pointed to the patriarchal nature of Catholic establishments that means abuse can go unchallenged.

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/celibacy.and.secrecy.drive.catholic.church.child.abuse.report.claims/113602.htm

Children of Catholic priests live with secrets and sorrow

He carried his doubts and disappointment across miles and decades, from childhood to adulthood, and finally at the age of 48 to the kitchen table of a modest house outside of Buffalo. There, he would ask an elderly aunt and uncle to help him answer the question that had troubled him all his life: Why had his father always seemed to dislike him so much?
With his parents already dead, Jim Graham pleaded with his Aunt Kathryn and Uncle Otto to tell him the truth about his family. Finally, Kathryn unfolded a newsletter published by a Catholic religious order and slid it across the table. She jabbed a finger at a picture of a sad, balding figure wearing a priest’s clerical collar.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/08/16/father-father-children-catholic-priests-live-with-secrets-and-sorrow/mvYO5SOxAxZYJBi8XxiaqN/story.html 

Maltese Married Catholic Priest's Blog

Jack (priest) and Annie (married woman).
I’m Annie and my priest’s name is Jack. I’ve been reading your blog for sometime now and I wanted to finally share some of my story (it’s okay to post this). It’s not very detailed but it’s enough. I met a priest in 2013 just before my husband left on a business trip. This trip was to last 5 months abroad. My husband is very kind, and I would say we have a good marriage. This priest was from an other parish filling in for our priest.
After my husband departed for his business trip, I filled my days with daily mass and volunteer work. In those days I would see this priest. There was an instant chemistry that I was very aware of. He was too. There was much eye contact, both catching and looking away and catching again. I felt that his homilies always spoke to me personally. I felt the hot and cold too at first. It would go from one week he’d “see” me and then the following week completely ignoring me. In those moments of being ignored I felt crushed. We didn’t speak much. I would email him occasionally asking for a Mass intention or pray for someone or something but nothing beyond that.

https://maltesemarriedcatholicpriest.wordpress.com/2017/09/11/jack-priest-and-annie-married-woman/

Children of Catholic priests live with secrets and sorrow

He carried his doubts and disappointment across miles and decades, from childhood to adulthood, and finally at the age of 48 to the kitchen table of a modest house outside of Buffalo. There, he would ask an elderly aunt and uncle to help him answer the question that had troubled him all his life: Why had his father always seemed to dislike him so much?
With his parents already dead, Jim Graham pleaded with his Aunt Kathryn and Uncle Otto to tell him the truth about his family. Finally, Kathryn unfolded a newsletter published by a Catholic religious order and slid it across the table. She jabbed a finger at a picture of a sad, balding figure wearing a priest’s clerical collar.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/08/16/father-father-children-catholic-priests-live-with-secrets-and-sorrow/mvYO5SOxAxZYJBi8XxiaqN/story.html 

Boston Globe Spotlight Team Uncovers Secret Children Of Catholic Priests

One of the Boston Globe reporters made famous in the movie “Spotlight” has a new bombshell story on the Catholic Church – thousands of people claim they were fathered by priests. Globe Spotlight reporter Michael Rezendes appeared on CBS This Morning Wednesday to discuss the first part of his report, “Children of Catholic Priests Live with Secrets and Sorrow.”

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2017/08/16/catholic-priests-father-children-boston-globe-spotlight-michael-rezendes-cbs-this-morning/ 

Another hot and cold priest

I’m Wendy. My priest’s name is Craig. Forgive the long story, but I don’t know how to understand my priest. His behaviour is odd, and it’s ripping me up inside.Let me start by saying that this has been a horrible year for me! In the same month, I had a tumour on my neck, my mother went into kidney failure, and my 67 year old boss was constantly harassing me, and threatening to fire me, so she could afford to keep her 35 year old boyfriend in the company. 

He just got out of rehab, and hasn’t been employed a year. He went to rehab after working at my company just one week, when he showed up at work drunk. My boss sent him to rehab for three months, then brought him back to the company, where he took my promised promotion. We were in a deficit, and could not afford him, so now all of a sudden, she was finding all kinds of flaws in my work, while he is paid literally just to sit around, and be her boyfriend. On July 4th, she finally got rid of me. My point of all this, is that this year has been misery, and my priest was like a light at the end of a very dark tunnel.

https://maltesemarriedcatholicpriest.wordpress.com/2017/08/28/another-hot-and-cold-priest/ 

The priest and today’s world

The media and the common people are very creative when they invent stories especially involving a priest who has just left. Most probably they give a reason to something that they find extremely hard to digest! The usual answer is that one left to get married!
Although in some cases it might ring true, yet in most cases, we encounter a different picture. The priest is not so happy with his surroundings, happenings or way of life. In the quoted article, one finds an ex seminarian (one who is studying for priesthood), who is not happy with the way of life the friars are living in the monastery. He feels very uncomfortable that whilst his mother has to make both ends meet, in his monastery there is a superfluous luxury notwithstanding the fact that they took the vow of poverty! The most important thing of all is that it has effected his spirituality. Although for others it may seem to be trivial, it cost him his place in the monastery. He couldn’t accommodate this divorce between what he believes and what he sees daily in the monastery.

https://maltesemarriedcatholicpriest.wordpress.com/2017/04/24/the-priest-and-todays-world/ 

Married Priests: the fine print

How do you feel when a friend forgets all about you, then one fine morning he calls you and asks you a favour? On one hand you are thankful that he/she remembered you. On the other hand you realise that friends are not there simply to be used by others! If friendship has died or has been forgotten, why ask for a favour after such a long pause?

https://maltesemarriedcatholicpriest.wordpress.com/2017/03/27/married-priests-the-fine-print/ 

Married Priests are already present and active in the Catholic Church!

When people talk about married priests, it seems as if we are talking about the future such as when aliens will land on earth! Those hearing us discussing about married priesthood might jump into the conclusion that it’s still not being practiced in the Catholic Church. This assumption that we’re talking about future decisions might harm our reputation. Some might nickname us as rebels or people outside the church!
Well there are so many people out there that they don’t know that there are already married priests in the church! If one uses a search engine, one might encounter a lot of such cases. One particular story is found here. So please note that all those people who might start arguing that a married priest might not have enough time for his wife and children, it is already being done!

https://maltesemarriedcatholicpriest.wordpress.com/2017/02/27/married-priests-are-already-present-and-active-in-the-catholic-church/