Clerical first?

The Independent reports that a father and son have been ordained into the Roman Catholic Church. Jerome Taylor starts his article by asking "With celibacy a fundamental tenet of the Catholic clergy, you might think it should be all but impossible for a father and son to both be priests." That is the quick response to these type of stories in which the finer points of the matter are missed.

It is perfectly possible for a father and son to be priests in the Roman Communion. Celibacy is both abstinence from sexual activity and about marital status. There have been many priests who were widowers at the time of their ordination.

However, I am a little uncomfortable with the Vatican's stance in that, by trying not to compromise the position on Holy Orders, there is an implied compromise on the sacrament of Holy Matrimony. Jerome Taylor reports, "They are allowed to stay within wedlock despite being priests in the Catholic Church but are expected to remain celibate."

This appears to be an illogical concept of the position of matrimony, but then I am not a Roman Catholic.