Is Canon Law like the Catechism?--Chapter Three

During a break at a recent Bible Study, I was talking with someone about married priests and the canons that allow for and validate their sacramental ministry. The individual asked, "Is Canon Law like the Catechism?" I was shocked by her question, apparently she didn't know about Canon Law. Later, however, I was reminded that I too had no idea what Canon Law was back in 1992. Our parochial education was more about The Catechism than it was the internal workings of our religion--the laws that the hierarchy use to govern the church or those that empower the people in the pews. Crossing the threshold into the world of church reform is like being on the inside of academia among the politics of the profession, or being in the political world itself. These are really "other worlds" unto themselves--a different subculture. I didn't realize this when CITI/Rentapriest propelled me into the church reform movement in 1992, but living it for the next four years made me curious about the origin of Judaism's "3-tenet" religion. Because of all the Catholic protesting going on regarding so many issues beyond a married priesthood (divorce and remarriage, women priests, homosexuality, etc.) I wondered if Jews had their own reform issues some years before that might have led to the branches of their religion: Orthodox, Conservative and Reform (plus a few in between), so that Jews with particular philosophies could worship together in respective groups. Somehow, I wondered if this might be a solution to church reform in Catholicism. A good friend of mine loaned me a copy of The Jewish Book of Why (Kolatch) in which I read of a "Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch who believed in harmonizing Judaism with the ways of the world and in maintaining a working relationship with all elements of the Jewish community." He wrote the book The Nineteen Letters about Judaism by Ben Uziel back in 1836, a book that was very hard to find. It, however, was translated into English in 1995 by a Rabbi Elias in Israel. The manifesto is a clever but fictitious dialogue between a philosopher and a youthful intellect challenging the identity and religious belief among Jews, and is fascinating for anyone to read, not just Jews, because these spiritual challenges can apply to anyone. The 19 Letters not only opened my eyes to reform issues in general, but especially how similar both religions are and that many of our Catholic traditions were adopted from the Jewish religion. Since the early Christians were none other than Jewish converts, it makes sense. Some of our similarities include:

• They have Circumcision (bris); we have Baptism.
• They have Bar/Bat Mitzvahs; we have Confirmation.
• The Torah (Old Testament) that is central to Jewish worship is kept in a curtained "ark" in synagogues; in the Catholic Churches, a Tabernacle holds the Communion Host, and both are isolated from the public when not in use.
• We each have a Sabbath, though on different days.
• Vestments are an important part of each religion's rituals.
• We have both have had dietary laws--some Jews still don't eat pork or shellfish; Catholics used to not eat meat on Fridays, now observe the law only during Lent.
• Our hierarchy even wear a Catholic version of the "Yarmulke," a type of cap worn by Jewish men during worship.

Apart from our hierarchical structure which contrasts Judaism's Home Rule, we believe that Jesus was the Messiah, not just another prophet.

There are also major differences between Catholicism and Judaism in the process used to arrive at practical laws for worship and conduct, and this is where Canon Law and our Catechism come in:

In Judaism, great emphasis is placed on the Torah (Old Testament)which contains the Ten Commandments. The Talmud is a written version of the old Jewish Oral Law and is an explanation of the Torah. The practical applications of the Talmud are then published in The Code of Jewish Law, all direct descendants of the Torah. So the evolution of Jewish follows as such:

1. Torah (Old Testament)

2. Jewish Oral Law, based on Old Testament

3. Talmud, written version of Oral Law

4. The Code of Jewish Law, taken from Talmud which is based on Old Testament

The Catholic lineage, on the other hand, is not so clearly defined. Our original "catechism" was called the Didache and was written in the first century of Christianity. (McBrien, Richard. 1981. Catholicism; Minnesota: Winston Press). It too, was an interpretation of the Old Testament; the New Testament had not yet been published. The Didache evolved through the centuries to our current Catechism, the newest 1995 version of which is a combination of the Old and New Testament, non-infallible Catholic teachings and Canon Law, a body of manmade laws by the church hierarchy, first published in 1917 just prior to the first printing of the original Catechism (1918). The evolution, therefore: 1. Old Testament and only a few chapters of the New Testament 2. Didache (original name of Catechism), based on above 3. Catechism and Canon Law were published almost simultaneously in the early 20th century, and were a combination of Old Testament, New Testament and non-infallible Catholic teachings (laws made by the Catholic hierarchy) with newer versions more of the same. So, while the Code of Jewish Law is a direct descendant of the of the oral law (Talmud), a direct descendant of the Old Testament, the Catechism is a conglomeration of the Old and New Testaments, the Code of Canon Law, and non-infallible Papal Declarations. Because Catholics are taught the Catechism, they are not aware of the body of laws that appear in The Code of Canon Law, even though several sections are written to empower the laity (i.e., inviting a married priest to celebrate Mass inside a Catholic Church building when no other priest is available). These appear in Book II entitled "The People of God", part I of which is called "The Obligations and Rights of all the Christian Faithful." The Rentapriest website (http://www.rentapriest.com/) lists the 21 canons that empower the people of God to use married priests without permission from anyone. #30

What do the Bishops Say about CITI/Rentapriest?--Chapter Two

The question, "What do the Bishops say about CITI/Rentapriest?" has been asked, especially by conservative Catholics and the media. Our experience with bishops since 1992 has been a positive one. Only one, however, has made a public statement supporting of our work. In the early days of CITI's existence, I was introduced to Bishop Michael Kenny of Alaska. I wrote and sent him materials. He responded that he would be happy to serve as a "behind the scenes" board member. He unfortunately died of a brain aneurysm several months later. While attending a workshop at a Directors of Religious Education Conferences (DRE) in Washington, D.C., I asked a pertinent question at the end of Bishop McCarthy's talk, and at the same time introducing myself and Rentapriest to him and the audience. After he responded, he pointed his finger at me and in front of 350 people said, "Don't stop what you're doing. God bless you." On another occasion in the late 1990s, I was on my way back to the airport after attending the Call to Action Conference in Milwaukee, WI. The only other passenger on the airport shuttle bus was Bishop Raymond Lucker of New Ulm, MN. I was aware of the tremendous shortages of priests in his diocese and so during our conversation, I asked the Bishop what he would do if we placed married priests in some of his priestless parishes. He replied, "Oh, I would have to stop it." I then asked, "What if no one complained?" He said, "I would look the other way." I contacted one of the married priests in the area and asked for names of parishioners so that I could call them. Unfortunately, the married priest was unsure and called Bishop Lucker for his approval. Naturally, the Bishop said, "No." His public approval would have sent a red flag to Rome. (Lucker was obviously saying, "Just do it!" but don't ask/tell me about it.) For several years, one Maine married priest has celebrated Mass, at the request of the congregation, when the regular priest presider is not available. The Bishop has known and does nothing, presumably because he is aware that his flock is well taken care of. A later meeting with an East Coast bishop revealed that he refused to accept into his diocese, married priest converts from other religions in protest of priests who married. I applauded his position. During the very early days of CITI, I attended one of the Bishops' Conferences and met with a midwestern Archbishop. I was really curious about the injustice (I felt) between the use of married priest converts, while priests who married lost their "faculties" in the church. When asked "Why?", the Archbishop responded, "Resentment." I said, "Resentment? What do you mean?" He replied, "When a priest is in discernment about whether to leave and get married or stay in the clerical priesthood, there's a lot of love and understanding on the part of the church. But, when he walks out that door, 'resentment' sets in." I thought, what a strange attitude from Jesus' representatives on earth. So, the bottom line messages are: 1. "Mandatory celibacy" is about "resentment" for those who have the integrity to leave when they struggle with lack of intimacy or they fall in love. (We certainly have heard enough stories since 2002 about priests who hide behind the collar and abuse women and children.) 2. If a parish is without a priest for Eucharist, especially during the holidays/holydays, they can invite a married Roman Catholic priest to celebrate, without obtaining permission from anyone. Just do it! According to Canon Law, the bishops have an obligation to the people of God, to provide sacramental ministry and if they cannot send a cleric, a married priest in your congregation will do...and chances are, the bishop will look the other way. #30

Rentapriest, the name--Chapter One

So, let's begin with the name "Rent A Priest." When I became aware of the severe shortage of priests in 1991 (almost everywhere except New England where I live), my inclination was to find out why we had not seen news articles about churches that had already closed by then in San Francisco, Detroit, Chicago and elsewhere. I had been a pay, pray and obey Catholic all of my life--attended parochial school, served the public at church suppers, taught religion classes to youngsters as well as being a weekly communicant at my local church. Yet, I had never heard--ever--that 20,000 priests had left clerical priesthood to marry in the U.S. between 1968-1992; that Canon Law says they are priests forever and by using certain Canon Laws, the public can bypass a bishop and request sacramental ministry from a priest who married--that their sacramental ministry would be valid. When I read in my research, however, that as far back as 1980, the church hierarchy began inviting Protestant ministers to convert to Catholicism and become ordained into the Catholic priesthood, yet were throwing out the front door priests who married, something about a terrible injustice made me snap inside. It happened right in Maine where I live. Rev. Harry Vickerson from the Buxton area was relieved of his church duties when he married, but was replaced with a married priest convert with wife and family. My professional background had included marketing, advertising, television and sales. That I should write news releases about my newfound discoveries was therefore a normal reaction. Armed with the research I had done, the newly-f0rmed CITI (Celibacy Is the Issue) began releasing data to the news media. The instant positive response I expected, however, never came. This was nothing new to reporters. Their reaction was something like, "Celibacy in the priesthood? That's been around for 860 years. Ho Hum!" A few months later, I met married priest canon lawyer Rev. Delmar Smolinski of Michigan. He handed me 20 years of his research to justify his own ministry as a hospital chaplain in a local Catholic hospital. I sent the 21 canon laws to one of the authors of The Code of Canon Law and asked, "Is this legitimate?" He said, "Yes!" OK, so here I was sitting with this new knowledge from my cursory research: 1. The realization that celibacy was a manmade law passed in 1139 because the church wanted the homes where priests lived; in some instances, they even sold their wives and children into slavery (Thomas, Gordon-Desire and Denial). 2. Canon Laws that say priests are priests forever and people could call them to ministry without permission from anyone. In fact, there are 21 such laws. And no one in the media--the threshhold to the public--cared. Meanwhile, I was hearing horrible stories about married priests being blackballed in their communities by their bishop and having difficulties getting decent jobs to support their families. Some had been told to move as far away as 500 miles. All had been told to put their chalice in the closet and, "Don't you dare celebrate Mass." I prayed. During the summer of 1992, I prayed. "OK, God, you've given me all this. So, what for? What do you want from me anyway?" I honestly didn't know what to do next. One of my sisters came to our Maine cottage for a visit in September. She slept upstairs, I downstairs. The following morning, she said, "You talked all night in your sleep. What was going on?" I told her about this dream I had, so vivid that it was like a vision. I saw a brochure in pale blue paper stock. On the cover were a pair of male hands holding the Eucharistic Host the way a priest does when he is consecrating it. The difference was that there was a brilliantly shining ring on the third finger of his left hand. Above the image were the words "Rent A Priest." That day, I called my canon lawyer friend and another married priest and together, we developed the brochure still being used today. Another friend, artist and illustrator Patricia Woodward designed the logo--an illustration of the image described above. It too is still being used today.

Media recognition and interest was almost instantaneous. Over the next five years, Rentapriest publicity attracted Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes, Time Magazine.com and front pages of the New York Times and International Herald Tribune along with scores of newspapers, magazines and online media. Belgium, Austria and Switzerland TV stations sent their camera crews to our front door and we were also featured on the BBC and CBC (Great Britain and Canada). No longer was celibacy a "ho-hum" issue and Rentapriest attracted not only the public, it brought married priests out of the woodwork, especially the 60 Minutes segment that ran in January 1995. CITI, through Rentapriest.com, has provided sacramental and pastoral ministry to over half a million people in the past ten to twelve years.