Ordination of Married Men and Clerical Marriage

With a view to the pastoral service of our faithful wherever they are to be found and to respect the traditions of the Eastern churches it would be desirable to study the possibility of having married priests outside the patriarchal territory.In 1998 the bishops of Australia issued a formal statement saying they had no opposition to married Eastern priests in Australia. The U.S. and Canadian bishops have expressed similar opinions although not as formally.The Eastern churches also value the ministry of their married priests.At a time when the Latin-rite church is accepting and ordaining married former Anglican priests it does not make sense to tell Eastern Catholics that they cannot exercise their tradition of a married priesthood.With the admittance of former Anglicans we ask that these old prohibitions change so there would be equality between what the Latin and Eastern bishops are allowed to do.In the past only Eastern-rite priests could be married.This book explains the difference between the marriage before ordination and marriage after ordination.The book is good to both christians in Latin and Eastern Rite traditions.It is good for laityclergy and Religious