A married priest story. (Priesthood Discussion)

by desi , Australia, Thursday, April 08, 2010, 11:09 (1141 days ago) @ Brian Coyne

The link below is to an article re 'Defending the Pope' (much of the same).

http://blog.georgetownvoice.com/2010/04/07/thomas-reese-of-georgetown-defends-the-popes...

However my reason for posting it is the following response posted after the article.

(My highlights).

Tom Degan says:
April 7th, 2010 at 5:16 pm
In my parish, St. John the Evangelist in Goshen, NY, the first major pedophile scandal materialized in the early nineties. The priest in question, “Father Ed” had been molesting boys in their early teens for a couple of years. To say that the parishioners were traumatized by this would be an understatement. They were devastated. Then something wondrous happened….

Father Ed was defrocked and eventually replaced by Father Trevor Nichols. Father Trevor had been an Anglican in merrie old England when he converted to Catholicism. On becoming a Catholic he was transferred to Saint John’s -
WITH HIS WIFE AND TWO DAUGHTERS! A married priest! WITH TWO KIDS!

You want to hear the punch line? Our little parish did not implode. The sun did not fall from the sky. Huge cracks did not appear in the earth’s surface. In fact, it was nice having them. They were – and are to this day – deeply beloved by the people of St. John’s.

Allowing priests to marry would transform the Catholic Church. Having Father Trevor, his wife Marian and their two lovely daughters in our midst certainly transformed the people of St. John’s.

Great to hear such a positive response.