Of the 22,703 LSU students that reported a religion on their application in the fall of 2002, 12,582 of them checked “Catholic.” Roman Catholic students compose almost 40 percent of the student population.
Many of those students attend churches such as LSU’s Christ the King, where they are led by men who have vowed to live a life of celibacy. That vow has now become the center of debate.
More than 160 priests from the Milwaukee Archdiocese signed a letter Aug. 19 asking that married men be allowed to enter the Catholic priesthood. According to the Associated Press, their action is the first attempt of an organized group of priests to openly ask for a lax in the Church’s celibacy policy since the mid-1970’s. The letter was submitted to the U.S. Conference of Bishops in order to begin a national dialogue on the issue.
The dialogue has also started on LSU’s campus.
“I think priests should be allowed to married,” said Kimberly Wyatt, a political science senior. Wyatt is Methodist and said that her minister is allowed to marry, so she thinks priests should be able to also. “I don’t see a problem with it,” she said.
Jesse Salinas, an architecture freshmen and a non-denominational Christian said, “God put us on this earth to create more children who will love God.” He said that priests should be allowed to procreate and carry out God’s wishes.
Rachel Spinner, a Jewish sociology sophomore said that rabbis are allowed to marry. “I don’t know a lot about the arguments, but I think having a family is important,” she said. “I think being married helps them serve their congregation better.”
Even though Daniel Nunes, a political science and marketing sophomore, is a practicing Catholic, he supports priests’ being allowed to marry.
“I think in the Bible, it says priests should be completely devoted to God, but in the past, priests have been married,” he said.
Nunes also said he thinks priests should have the option of marrying and that marriage does not hurt their ability to lead a church.
Nisha Shah, a kinesiology freshman, is a practicing Hindu. She said she was not familiar with Church regulations concerning marriage of priests. “I think priests should be married,” Shah said. “It’s their personal life; they should be abel to choose.”
The Rev. Howard L’Enfant is one priest who is allowed to marry. But he is the assistant pastor of St. Alban’s Chapel, an Episcopalian church.
“We believe there is scriptural and traditional precedence for priests being married,” L’Enfant said. He said that celibacy was imposed as a discipline in the Middle Ages, but when various churches split from the Roman Catholic Church, the practice was rejected.
“We have found, traditionally, that there is simply no conflict between the married life and priesthood,” L’Enfant said. “In fact, married life gives the priest an abundance of experience. For example, it’s much easier to counsel marriage when you, yourself have been married.”
The Rev. Than Vu, priest at Christ the King Catholic Church, has a different view.
“Basically, the Catholic understanding is that celibacy frees up the priest to minister,” he said.
Vu said that its important on a practical level, because if the priest has a wife and children, the Church can’t ask him to constantly travel to other parishes and celebrate sacraments like anointing of the sick.
“Theologically, celibacy is a testimony to the fact that love does not have to be sexual love,” he said.
Some LSU students agree with Vu.
“No; priests should not be allowed to marry,” said Ashley Ransburg, an elementary education junior.
Ransburg said that she was Baptist, but went to Catholic school and respected the belief in mandatory celibacy.
“It’s tradition,” Ransburg said. “They’re supposed to serve their church and the community. I think it’s important that they give their life to the Church.”
Patrick Cook, a kinesiology junior and non-denominational Christian said, “I thought priests were supposed to be married to the Church.”
Michelle Gieg, a mass communication sophomore and Catholic said she was not surprised priests were asking for the right to be married. “I think priests wanting to be married is a reflection of our modern times,” Gieg said. “However, I don’t believe it’s in accordance with Church doctrine.”