Saturday, July 10, 2010

Married Father Ordained as Catholic Priest; Had Been Protestant Pastor before Converting

The Worldwide Religion News website reports today (July 10, 2010) that a married man was ordained as a Catholic priest in the southern German city of Regensburg this week, in a rare exception to the church's rules of celibacy for men of the cloth.

Peter Kemmether, a 62-year-old father of four children, took part in the ceremony led by Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller on July 6 in the Bavarian city.

He had been a Protestant pastor, but converted to Catholicism.

The Catholic Church in Bavaria has ordained several former Protestants into the priesthood in the last decade. These men have papal permission to carry on with their family lives as usual, and are not required to become celibate.

No comments:

Post a Comment