CLARIFICATION BY THE DIRECTOR OF THE HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE, FR. FEDERICO LOMBARDI, S.I., ON SPECULATIONS ABOUT THE CELIBACY ISSUE IN THE ANNOUNCED APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION REGARDING PERSONAL ORDINARIATES FOR ANGLICAN ENTERING INTO FULL COMMUNION WITH THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
There has been widespread speculation, based on supposedly knowledgeable remarks by an Italian correspondent Andrea Tornielli, that the delay in publication of the Apostolic Constitution regarding Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans entering into full communion with the Catholic Church, announced on October 20, 2009, by Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is due to more than "technical" reasons. According to this speculation, there is a serious substantial issue at the basis of the delay, namely, disagreement about whether celibacy will be the norm for the future clergy of the Provision.
Cardinal Levada offered the following comments on this speculation: "Had I been asked I would happily have clarified any doubt about my remarks at the press conference. There is no substance to such speculation. No one at the Vatican has mentioned any such issue to me. The delay is purely technical in the sense of ensuring consistency in canonical language and references. The translation issues are secondary; the decision not to delay publication in order to wait for the ‘official’ Latin text to be published in Acta Apostolicae Sedis was made some time ago.
The drafts prepared by the working group, and submitted for study and approval through the usual process followed by the Congregation, have all included the following statement, currently Article VI of the Constitution:
§1 Those who ministered as Anglican deacons, priests, or bishops, and who fulfill the requisites established by canon law and are not impeded by irregularities or other impediments may be accepted by the Ordinary as candidates for Holy Orders in the Catholic Church. In the case of married ministers, the norms established in the Encyclical Letter of Pope Paul VI Sacerdotalis coelibatus, n. 42 and in the Statement "In June" are to be observed. Unmarried ministers must submit to the norm of clerical celibacy of CIC can. 277, §1.
§2. The Ordinary, in full observance of the discipline of celibate clergy in the Latin Church, as a rule (pro regula) will admit only celibate men to the order of presbyter. He may also petition the Roman Pontiff, as a derogation from can. 277, §1, for the admission of married men to the order of presbyter on a case by case basis, according to objective criteria approved by the Holy See.
This article is to be understood as consistent with the current practice of the Church, in which married former Anglican ministers may be admitted to priestly ministry in the Catholic Church on a case by case basis. With regard to future seminarians, it was considered purely speculative whether there might be some cases in which a dispensation from the celibacy rule might be petitioned. For this reason, objective criteria about any such possibilities (e.g. married seminarians already in preparation) are to be developed jointly by the Personal Ordinariate and the Episcopal Conference, and submitted for approval of the Holy See."
Cardinal Levada said he anticipates the technical work on the Constitution and Norms will be completed by the end of the first week of November.
31 October 2009
Clarification on the Apostolic Constitution
This important clarification has been issued:
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8 comments:
Seems like a solid work-around: grandfather in those married men who are already ordained and perhaps those in the process of formation, enforce the Roman norms prospectively, and apply the pastoral provision to those Anglican ministers who miss the Apostolic constitutional boat this first time around.
As a RC priest, I am wondering if having bi-ritual priests (Latin Rite & Anglican Rite) are envisioned. What if a small group of Anglicans wanted an Anglican-use parish but there were no priests available except the local RC priest?
I imagine that the Ordinary of the new Anglican Ordinariate would seek a local sympathetic RC priest who could say the mass for the group. According to the current Pastoral Provision, any Roman Rite priest may say the Anglican Use without special permission.
I am curious about if there is a norm for Anglicans regarding clergy getting married, rather than married being ordained? If a man is ordained as an Anglican priest while he is still single, is he an "eligible bachelor" that can be out courting and getting married at some later point? Or is the practice more similar to permanent deacons that can stay married if they already are, but can't get married once they are ordained? It seems like there may have been a problem around the time if Vatican II that a number or priests and seminarians had the expectation that they would soon be permitted to get married, were surprised when they couldn't, and then being involved with someone dropped out. If an Anglican priest is permitted to marry after ordination and has the expectation of such (perhaps being involved in a relationship) what might happen with them if they convert while still single? My guess would be that if that might be the case, they would be expected to marry first prior to being ordained a Catholic priest, since I can't picture it being allowed for someone the first be ordained and allowed to marry at a later point.
Daniel, if you are asking about men who are presently Anglican priests, serving in some part of the Anglican Communion, then the answer is yes -- he is free to marry, even though already Anglican cleric.
If an unmarried man, presently an Anglican cleric, is thinking about approaching the Catholic Church, eventually to seek ordination as a Catholic priest, and if he married before formally beginning the process, it would (at the very least) greatly extend the time it would take the Church to consider his case, since it needs to be shown that he has been in a stable marriage for some considerable time.
Although I cannot speak for those in authority, I would doubt very much that the Church would consider a man for ordination if it appeared that he rushed into a marriage just so that he could have it accomplished, and "get in under the wire," so to speak. This would not speak well of his character, nor would it testify to the stability of such a marriage.
Would you expect that an Anglican priest who is currently single that decides to convert would likely have to decide between a vocation to the Catholic priesthood or married state; or might it be possible that he would still be able to apply under the Pastoral Provision once he married, even if that might be a few years after his conversion? Perhaps the case has already come up, it would seem from the statement that the process isn't really changing from the current Pastoral Provision.
The rules for married candidates for priesthood to be developed for the future clergy of the anglican ordinariate, besides what will be provided in the Apostolic Constitution, will likely be similar as thos contained in the Code of the Canons of the Oriental Churches (which requires the consent of the wife, but not a number of years for the marriage).
The broader issue of the mandatory celibacy for diocesan clergy will be affected, in the short, medium, and long run. His Holiness Benedict XVI knows that the decision on the incoming anglican clergy will require a decision on the "Latin" (as referred to in canon 1 of CIC) or "Roman" clergy. He is a man of GREAT INTELECT, and assume he has not considered the issue is demeaning to his intelect. When will it happen? I do not know.
Something to reflect on: while the Eastern Catholic Churches (Byzantine, Ukranian, etc.) have a married clergy in Europe, a century ago the US Latin Rite bishops pressured the Vatican for permission to deny married priests from these churches to minister in the US. (Lots of Eastern Europeans at the time were migrating to the US brining their priests/churches with them). Thanks to the pressure from the Latin Rite bishopes, the Eastern Catholic priests in the US are celibate. Will the same thing happen to the Anglican Use Church in the 2nd or 3rd generation? If celibacy continues in the Latin Rite Church (as I presume it will), I believe there will be pressure to insist on celibacy for the Anglican Use priests -- not the married men ordained as Episcopalian priests who come over but for the young men bred in the Anglican Use. The US bishops (and many Latin Rite priests also) will be reluctant to see a situation where half the priests may marry and half the priests may not.
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