Catholic Priests Become Anglicans in Order to Marry

The Catholic Church in South Korea has lost four priests to the Anglicans in recent years, with marriage cited as the most important reason.

"They want to marry and at the same time serve as pastors," Anglican Father Peter Lee Kyong-nae, a former Catholic seminarian, told the Asian church news agency, UCA News. Two more Catholic priests are currently preparing to become Anglican priests, he added.

While the focus of attention in the Catholic Church around the world concerns Pope Benedict XVI's decision in October, 2009 to make it easier for Anglicans to become Catholics, Korea has had an opposite effect, as several Catholic priests have become Anglicans, so that they can get married and still preach the Word of God.

Whether a plethora of Catholic priests around the world will become Anglicans, in order to get married -- and still remain pastors -- might prove to be an interesting by-product, resulting from the current close relations between the Catholic and Anglican Churches.