Can a Catholic priest be married before becoming a priest?

Throughout the Catholic Church, East as well as West, a priest may not marry. In the Eastern Catholic Churches, a married priest is one who married before being ordained. The Catholic Church considers the law of clerical celibacy to be not a doctrine, but a discipline.

Why can’t a Catholic priest get married?

A distinction must be made from the outset: some Catholic priests can be married and some can’t. This distinction is possible because there is nothing in the Deposit of the Faith that prohibits priests from being married. There is a long-standing practice, though, to require celibacy of Latin (or Roman) rite priests.

What do priests say to marry?

I, ____, take you, ____, to be my lawfully wedded (husband/wife), to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. The priest will then say aloud “You have declared your consent before the Church.

Can a Catholic priest ever get married?

(CBS News) For centuries, the Roman Catholic Church has had a very firm rule – if you’re a priest, you can’t get married. But there are exceptions to the rule of celibacy. Married for 30 years,…

Do Catholic priests have to be celibate?

While celibacy is preferred, there are always exceptions to the rule that are consistent with the traditions of the Church. While Roman Catholic priests are usually celibate (i.e. unmarried), this practice is a long-held discipline of the Church.

Can a married man become a deacon or priest?

A married man can become a deacon under the current code of canon law. A married man can become a priest in the Roman Rite (Latin Rite) by special permission. And a celibate priest can obtain special permission to leave the priesthood and become a married man, if he so desires. Marriage is by no means “forbidden” in the Catholic Church.

Can Eastern Rite priests marry in the United States?

In recent years, the Vatican has relaxed such restrictions on Eastern Rite Catholics in the United States, and the Byzantine Ruthenian Church, in particular, has begun to import younger married priests from Eastern Europe.