Why are diocesan priests moved about?
Diocesan priests are ordained for service within a specific geographic area, for example the Diocese of Fall River is made up of Barnstable County, Dukes County, Martha's Vineyard, Bristol county and a few towns along Rt. 195 that link Bristol and Barnstable Counties. The bishop is the one with ultimate responsibility for the pastoral care of the people of God within his diocese. Priests are assigned according to the needs of a specific group or community and the particular gifts and talents of the individual priest. Parish Communities are very similar to families or individuals, they have their own unique personality and growth and development. As needs change, it sometimes becomes necessary to change the priest assigned. This isn't necessarily that easy though. Any change, regardless of how beneficial it is to those involved, is difficult. In addition, many relationships are formed that become a support for the priest and vice versa and the change can be difficult because of this as well. However, it is always important to remind ourselves that we are part of a larger family of faith than just our parish. Family members will sometimes move to care for relatives that live a distance away, the same is true within a diocese.
Can anyone become a Catholic. I am of the Jewish faith and because my mother converted and was not born Jewish that makes me not realy Jewish. I am old enough to make this decision and I love that the Catholic Faith honors the men and women of the Old Testament. What do I need to do to follow and learn more about Jesus?
Thanks for your question. The short answer is yes, anyone may become Catholic. There are a couple of ways that this happens. The most common (and preferred way) is through participation in a process called RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults). This process allows you to explore more about the Catholic faith, the church and parish structure, etc. After a period of time of what is called inquiry, the person may feel that yes indeed they would like to become a member of this community of faith. A period of catechesis would then follow. During this time the person has the opportunity to learn about the Church in more detail, the sacraments, scripture, prayer, rights and obligations, etc. Sometimes a person's schedule doesn't allow them to participate fully in this process. In those cases, a plan would be set up with the parish priest to accomodate that. The Church seeks to be pastoral in its mission above all things and will work with anyone with a sincere desire to know the Lord better.
If you are just curious at the moment and not necessarily ready to jump right into things, I would encourage you to attend mass at a local parish (or visit different ones near you) to get a feel for the liturgy. There may be activities and events that you could participate in that would allow you to learn a little more about the Catholic Church. If you are near the Cape you could join us at ReVerb (check out www.youngadultfaith.com for more info.). You can also speak with a priest, deacon or pastoral minister at any parish.
Good luck in your journey and be assured of my prayers!
How do you find out more info about following the Priesthood as a vocation?
Thanks for your inquiry. You can get a lot of information online. There are some great websites that provide an overview of what the priesthood is, discernment resources, etc. There are two types of priests: diocesan and religious. Basically, religious priests belong to a religious order and take vows of poverty, obedience and celibacy. They “report” to their religious superiors and engage in the ministries and apostolates that are a part of their charism. This could include parish ministry, but also can be education, hospitals, retreat work, etc.. A diocesan priest makes promises of obedience and celibacy. The promise of obedience is to the bishop of the diocese the priest is being ordained for. He can be assigned anywhere within the geographic boundaries of the diocese, although there are situations where he may serve outside of the diocese. Most diocesan priests serve in parish ministry.
It is important to keep in mind that the priesthood isn’t a career choice or a job. It is a life calling. Prayer is an important part of the priest’s life, particularly the Celebration of the Eucharist. More information can be found at the following sites:
www.fallrivervocations.org The Diocese of Fall River Vocations Office
www.vocation-network.org This is a great resource that has information on religious life as well as diocesan priesthood (also religious orders for women); there are articles and a neat discernment tool that could help in focusing one’s discernment.
www.catholicpriest.com This site is for the Diocese of Providence’s website; Fr. Najim in a classmate of mine from the seminary and has put together a great website. I can also recommend a site from another seminary friend of mine, Fr. Dan Hennessy, the Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Boston, www.vocationsboston.org.
Of course, you can always speak to a priest about their ministry and life. All the priests I know love to speak to others about priesthood. I am hoping also to make better use of my Twitter account (www.twitter.com/fatherdavid) to give some snapshots of priestly ministry.
Fr.David why is it that some Priest can marry and others can't?
Celibacy has been a requirement for priests in the Roman Rite for about a thousand years. It had been around a lot longer than that. At the time, it’s establishment as a requirement was mostly political and less spiritual, however, the Spirit was promised to guide the Church, and it does so at times through human means. As it is, there is great spiritual value in the gift of celibacy. It is done out of pastoral charity, allows the priest to focus more on the people he serves and the ministry and life he has been called to. I can on, but I don’t want to get off track from your question.
Celibacy is not part of the nature of priesthood. In fact, there are Eastern Rites in union with Rome which allow its priests to marry. In the Roman Rite we do have a married clergy, deacons. However, deacons may not married after they have been ordained. If a man is ordained a deacon and he is single, he is required to make a promise of celibacy. If his wife dies, he is not able to remarry. In the Eastern Rites, priests who are married were married prior to their ordination to diaconate (Diaconate(deacon) is the first Order of Holy Orders, Priesthood the second, Episcopacy (Bishop) the third and fullness of Holy Orders). Also, Eastern Rite bishops cannot be married.
Now there are some cases where you will find Roman Catholic priests who are married. How does this happen? These are men who were raised in a protestant denomination, felt called to ministry and responded to that call. At some point, after they were married and were ministering for a time, their spiritual journey led them to seek full communion in the Catholic Church. They would then have gone through RCIA and became Roman Catholics. Now, they the call they responded to was legitimate, God did indeed call them to ministry. Some of them petitioned Rome, and Rome dispensed them from the Celibacy requirement so that they could then go through a formation process and be ordained priests. This has really been an more recent occurrence and it has reopened discussions and debate on whether mandated celibacy should still be the rule.
