(As seen in the bulletin February 3, 2019)

(Examples: Will priests have the ability to marry?  Will our views change on birth control?) 

This question, asked by several parents, is challenging for several reasons.  First, we best teach our children through trustworthiness and reliability, presenting them many things that they can learn well by repetition; that children need to have an opportunity for frequent repetition before mastering a particular behavior or thought process would seem to be an argument against too much change; yet, because children also process many experiences quickly, manifest in a tendency to boredom if something is repeated overly much or doesn’t change enough, they take delight in new experiences and accept change more readily than adults settling in for the “long-haul.”  Changes are best taught with view to past foundations and precedents as we go forward; children, like adults, need continuity, traditions, but also need the excitement of doing something new that presents hope for a future which will be more theirs than ours; they  must increase as we decrease! 

Second, adults themselves must recognize that change, whether we like it or not, is the one  constant of life – a great ancient Greek philosopher said that we do not step into the same river once – try standing still in a flowing river and note what happens as the riverbed moves beneath your feet – you either change your position or get all wet! 

Third, trying to predict what changes are coming and when they’ll come is an attempt to play at being a prophet, a game at which few, if any, excel.  Significant changes take time.  How long was it before the sci-fi Star Trek flip-open communicators became our cell phones?! 

At present Roman Catholic candidates for the priesthood make solemn promises not to marry in order to serve the Church as one would a beloved spouse.  Eastern Rite Catholics in Communion with Rome accept and much prefer their parish priests to be married men, while those chosen to be their bishops come from monastic life in which they have freely embraced celibacy; what increasing familiarity with Eastern Rite Catholic traditions will do for us on our way to greater unity with them is not known but can be looked forward to as the basis for much interesting conversation!  Since 1982 a small number of married Anglican priests have converted to being Roman Catholic; they fully embrace our Catholic doctrine and tradition, and accept the primacy of the Pope.  After much prayer and additional study, some of these men, with their wives and families, acting in good faith, have asked for an opportunity to serve as married priests; in this case the Holy Father can give a dispensation from the promise and commitment of celibacy and permit the Bishop to ordain a married priest for our Catholic Church; there are several such men serving in our Archdiocese!  Where this might lead us, if anywhere, no one can yet say for sure. 

In 1968 Pope Paul VI wrote a summary of Catholic teaching on birth control in a historic letter called “Humanae Vitae.”  While sexual intimacy has as its’ primary aspect the conception of children, the mutual affection and love of husband and wife is equally essential and also of primary significance.  This has been increasingly emphasized by modern Popes.  Other than Natural Family Planning (NFP), most forms of birth control act in an abortifacient manner; our reverence and respect for the enormous gift of human life therefore still finds our Church officially opposed to artificial birth control.  However, couples in the Church facing complications, ambiguities, tensions, and decisions must be assisted with compassion, love, understanding, patience and, above all, our acceptance.  Although there may not be changes in official teaching on the horizon at present, what has definitely changed is that the more controversial aspects about the church’s position no longer polarize us from seeing one another as companions on the journey with Jesus toward the light of His truth; we are not here to judge one another, but to encourage, to help and to love one another.