Shepherds of a Wounded Flock, by Stephen P. White

Vatican Communications Official: Carved Figure at Amazon Synod Not Virgin Mary, by Hannah Brockhaus
October 17, 2019
Immigration: Winners and Losers? by James E. Hartley
October 17, 2019

By Stephen P. White, The Catholic Thing, Oct. 17, 2019

Note: TCT Editor-in-Chief Robert Royal will join Raymond Arroyo tonight (10/17/19) at 8:00 PM to discuss the Amazon Synod and other subjects on “The World Over.” Check your local listings for the EWTN channel in your area. Shows also appear soon after they are broadcast on EWTN’s YouTube page. His newest commentary on the synod (“At the Turning Point”), together with previous commentaries, is available by clicking here

Stephen P. White

Eyes are turned to Rome these days, waiting to see what will come of the Amazonian Synod. The synod fathers, as everyone by now knows, have been flirting with the idea of ordaining married men so as to better serve the sacramental needs of the Amazonian people. Some remote villages only have a priest visit once or twice a year. At the same time, there are good reasons that many see the push to ordain viri probati as a stalking horse for a referendum on clerical celibacy far beyond Amazonia. If a shortage of priests is sufficient cause to ordain married men in the Amazon, why not do the same in Dublin or Munich.

Here in the States, arguments against the discipline of clerical celibacy often pop up in the context of the sexual abuse crisis. The most conspicuous example in this genre was a cover story in The Atlantic, a few months back, which ran under the title, “Abolish the Priesthood.” The article had far (far) less value as serious argument than it did as a cultural marker indicating just how much the perception of the Catholic priesthood has changed – among both Catholics and the wider public. …

Read more at  https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2019/10/17/shepherds-of-a-wounded-flock/