I got call on my cellphone while I was driving in to work this morning. It was from a friend of mine who said "Hey man, you made the paper!".
What he was referring to was a letter to the Editor of our local paper I wrote last week. It was in response to another letter by a "Catholic" who used a very good article by Maggie Gallagher, a national syndicated columnist, to push his anti-celebacy agenda. I will post a link to the national column, his response and then my response to his response. We do great work here on OBOB, but we must also engage to culture that continually undermines the teaching of the Church. As the Lord instructed the first disciples. "Go out into the deep and cast down your nets". Let's go fishin'
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/maggiegallagher/mg20040413.shtml
Priests should be allowed to marry
To the Editor:
Syndicated columnist Maggie Gallagher is rightly disturbed by the ambivalent position of those Catholic bishops who refuse to publicly chastise ''Catholic'' politicians who vote to support anti-Catholic legislation. (''Catholic bishops should stand up for Catholicism,'' April 15).
One example cited is the hesitance of many bishops to deny Communion to politicians, such as John Kerry and Rudy Giuliani, who publicly support and vote for abortion rights. Maggie cogently states: ''For several generations now, (bishops) have not formed a majority of Catholics who actually believe what the Church teaches on abortion, sex, marriage, the Eucharist or anything else really.''
I appreciate Maggie's remarks but wish she had addressed the biggest scandal that has existed in our church for a millennium now, e.g., forced celibacy for those men who feel called by God to serve as priests.
I have carefully studied the tortured polemics advanced by those who would defend this illicit practice. It is contrary to the ''deposit of faith'' (teaching left behind by Jesus and his apostles) and should properly be termed neo-Catholicism. I have yet to find a priest or bishop who can cite legitimate, theological authority for this practice.
In reality, they have no more authority to deny marriage to priests than they would have to demand that all priests must be married. This practice contradicts the practice of the early church and, I believe, is the primary cause for most of our current scandals.
Ed Davie
My response
Priests are not forced into celibacy
To the Editor:
In response to Ed Davie's letter ''Priest should be allowed to marry.'' (April 16) I find it quite ironic that Mr. Davie on the one hand agrees that many Catholics are poorly informed regarding church teachings, then turns around by proving the point by his total misunderstanding of the celibacy issue.
Priests are not ''forced'' into celibacy. As part of their ordination, they vow to remain celibate. Would it be accurate to say the president is ''forced'' to defend the Constitution? Of course not: It's part of what he pledges to do when he is sworn in to office.
No, the biggest scandal isn't priestly celibacy, it's poorly informed Catholics. Mr. Davie might want to spend less time studying ''tortured polemics'' and maybe a little more time reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
John Tietjen
What he was referring to was a letter to the Editor of our local paper I wrote last week. It was in response to another letter by a "Catholic" who used a very good article by Maggie Gallagher, a national syndicated columnist, to push his anti-celebacy agenda. I will post a link to the national column, his response and then my response to his response. We do great work here on OBOB, but we must also engage to culture that continually undermines the teaching of the Church. As the Lord instructed the first disciples. "Go out into the deep and cast down your nets". Let's go fishin'
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/maggiegallagher/mg20040413.shtml
Priests should be allowed to marry
To the Editor:
Syndicated columnist Maggie Gallagher is rightly disturbed by the ambivalent position of those Catholic bishops who refuse to publicly chastise ''Catholic'' politicians who vote to support anti-Catholic legislation. (''Catholic bishops should stand up for Catholicism,'' April 15).
One example cited is the hesitance of many bishops to deny Communion to politicians, such as John Kerry and Rudy Giuliani, who publicly support and vote for abortion rights. Maggie cogently states: ''For several generations now, (bishops) have not formed a majority of Catholics who actually believe what the Church teaches on abortion, sex, marriage, the Eucharist or anything else really.''
I appreciate Maggie's remarks but wish she had addressed the biggest scandal that has existed in our church for a millennium now, e.g., forced celibacy for those men who feel called by God to serve as priests.
I have carefully studied the tortured polemics advanced by those who would defend this illicit practice. It is contrary to the ''deposit of faith'' (teaching left behind by Jesus and his apostles) and should properly be termed neo-Catholicism. I have yet to find a priest or bishop who can cite legitimate, theological authority for this practice.
In reality, they have no more authority to deny marriage to priests than they would have to demand that all priests must be married. This practice contradicts the practice of the early church and, I believe, is the primary cause for most of our current scandals.
Ed Davie
My response
Priests are not forced into celibacy
To the Editor:
In response to Ed Davie's letter ''Priest should be allowed to marry.'' (April 16) I find it quite ironic that Mr. Davie on the one hand agrees that many Catholics are poorly informed regarding church teachings, then turns around by proving the point by his total misunderstanding of the celibacy issue.
Priests are not ''forced'' into celibacy. As part of their ordination, they vow to remain celibate. Would it be accurate to say the president is ''forced'' to defend the Constitution? Of course not: It's part of what he pledges to do when he is sworn in to office.
No, the biggest scandal isn't priestly celibacy, it's poorly informed Catholics. Mr. Davie might want to spend less time studying ''tortured polemics'' and maybe a little more time reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
John Tietjen
It really slams the point hard and makes the other guy look stupid 
