A 58-year old man who had been a priest for 18 years fathered a son who is soon to be born stepped down on Saturday and he is no longer performing priestly duties. [1] We are all sinners and I pray that he receives God's forgiveness even though he broke the vow of chastity while he was a priest. I am fairly certain that he is not the only priest or monk who had broken this vow who are still continuing with their priestly or brotherly vocations.
While I do not judge this priest or others who have been unchaste, I do maintain, at least for myself who at one point entertained the possibility of becoming a man of cloth, that a vow of chastity taken before God to commit oneself to a life loving and serving God is sacrosanct, but if one has difficulty in keeping the vow, he must ask to be released from the vow before breaking it. Otherwise, it would be a betrayal of one's bond with God, a bond that is bound by a boundless love so personal, intimate and private that it has no equivalent. It would hurt when it is broken, and I think it would hurt much, much more when it is broken without prior consultation and prayer. [2]
[1] http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130925/A_NEWS/309250326
[2] I do not know how much it hurts God if one considers entering into this unique bond but in the end walks away from it relative to the breaking of the bond after prostrating oneself before God and making a vow. Perhaps it depends on what the person does with his life afterwards. Perhaps the pain of regret or disappointment can be attenuated or compensated by acts of goodness and prayer. The time will come when I will know. Hopefully, the blood of Christ and the intercessions of the Blessed Virgin Mary would be enough for salvation.
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