American archbishops: no objection of married priests for Eastern churches
October 13, 2010
Speaking from Rome, where they are participating in the Middle East Synod, the archbishops of Detroit and Toronto said that they would not object if the Eastern Catholic churches chose to ordain married men in North America.
Although the Eastern Catholic churches allow for married priests, they have generally adhered to a longstanding agreement not to ordain married men in North America, in order to avoid conflicts with their Roman Catholic neighbors. Archbishops Allen Vigneron of Detroit and Archbishop Thomas Collins of Toronto agreed that the ordination of married men for the Eastern churches would not cause such conflicts today. However, the two North American prelates reported that their colleagues from the Eastern churches were divided on the advisability of ordaining married men in America.
The two archbishops made their remarks at an October 13 press conference in Rome. Reporter John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter notes that both Detroit and Toronto have a substantial presence of Catholics from the Middle East-- many of them belonging to the Eastern churches.
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