Celibacy

relaxed in new rules
Laicisation guidelines updated
BY CHRISTINA WHITE
THE VATICAN has announced a relaxation in its rules for the release of priests from their vow of celibacy. The guidelines, contained in a letter from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, will also allow permanent deacons who become widowed to marry again in the Church.
Requests for laicisation, the dispensation from the vow of celibacy and dismissal from the priesthood, are not usually considered by the Vatican for priests under the age of 40 and the norm that only "exceptional cases" will be considered still applies.
But, in what is seen as a response to a number of high profile affairs which have rocked the Church, the rules now stipulate that laicisation will also be considered when "grave scandal is present".
Several national bishops' conferences had called on the Vatican to make it easier to laicise priests involved in sexual misconduct or abuse and the new regulations may be seen in part to meet those demands.
While the letter is not specific about the exact nature of scandal involved, it states that cases which go "beyond the ordinary motives for defection", especially those where "defects" emerged before ordination, should be considered by the examining commission.
When a priest who has left his ministry and married civilly is in danger of dying, the Congregation states that the petition for dispensation should be sent "without delay" to enable his civil marriage to be blessed.
The guidelines will also make it easier for widowed deacons to marry again. The letter identifies the "grave difficulties" which the current law places on men who are widowed after ordination but wish to remarry. To date the Holy See has maintained a pretty consistent record against remarriage and continuing ministry in the diaconate.
Three conditions have now been identified: the usefulness of the deacon's ministry within his diocese; that he has children of an age where they need "motherly care" and that he has parents or parents-inlaw who are elderly and in need of care. The latter is felt, in particular, to respond to the needs of deacons in Asia and Africa. The rules state that proof of just one of these conditions is sufficient for a request for dispensation but the Bishop must also support the request.