Catholic Bishop Calls For Priests To Marry

May 13, 2009 - PRLog -- (Marion, MA)—Advocates for a change in the Catholic Church’s stance on celibacy have found support in a bishop recently appointed to the diocese of Bozen-Brixen in Italy.

Bishop Karl Golser was recently quoted in the church paper of the Innsbruck Diocese, Tiroler Sonntag, as saying that regional bishops’ conferences should have the right to allow for the ordination of married men into the priesthood. It’s an attitude that has growing support from other Catholic officials.

Father Ameen (not his real name), a Catholic priest and author of Confessions of a Passionate Priest, says that his own experience as a priest carrying on an intimate relationship taught him that priests are perfectly capable of being both married and capable ministers.

“I was able to minister to my congregation without problems,” says Father Ameen, who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of retribution. “It is absurd that the Catholic Church holds on to this belief that somehow celibacy enhances the priesthood.”

Men like Bishop Golser and Father Ameen are among a growing number of Church officials seeking change in the Church’s stance on celibacy, a movement Bishop Golser believes is gaining public support.

Bishop Golser told Tiroler Sonntag, “The question of ordaining proven married men whose marriages have proved stable and who are respected in their communities will therefore come up more and more often.”

In Confessions of a Passionate Priest, Father Ameen talks about his own experiences as a non-celibate priest, including:  
• His torrid relationship with a married woman.
• His realization that many Church officials ignore such relationships.
• The lawsuit filed against his bishop by his lover’s husband.
• His suspension from his parish as punishment for his actions.

“Being intimate is a very basic human behavior,” says Father Ameen. “The sooner the Church embraces that, the better off the priesthood will be.”

Father Ameen remains dedicated to the priesthood despite his contradiction of specific Church rules. He currently lives in an undisclosed location in the United States, preferring to remain anonymous to avoid recrimination. His book is available at the Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Borders websites.

(Confessions of a Passionate Priest by Father Ameen; ISBN: 0-9816892-0-5; $14.95; 224 pages; 5½” x 8½”; softcover; East Mountain Books)

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