Priests sign petition for optional celibacy

17 of 77 active and

reitred priests in NU Diocese sign letter

By KEVIN SWEENEY

Journal Editor

NEW ULM -- A petition of priests in the New Ulm Diocese has resulted in a letter to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops calling for optional celibacy for Catholic priests.

Seventeen of the 77 active and retired priests in the diocese (22 percent) signed the letter, according to The Rev. Kenneth E. Irrgang, a retired priest who now lives in the St. Cloud Diocese.

Irrgang said he undertook the survey, which was not authorized by the Diocese of New Ulm, after a group of priests in the Milwaukee Archdiocese sent a similar letter in August. About 160 of the 400 priests in that archdiocese signed the letter, which was directed to Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Irrgang asked the priests' council in the New Ulm Diocese to conduct a similar petition supporting the idea of optional celibacy, but the council declined. "So our only recourse was to do it ourselves," said Irrgang.

Irrgang said optional celibacy is "inevitable" in the Roman Catholic Church. The requirement that priests take the vow of celibacy -- abstaining from all sexual activity -- has led to a shortage of priests, said Irrgang. "People don't want to be priests," he said.

The idea of a celibate priesthood was not part of the early church, according to Irrgang. Celibacy didn't become a requirement for priests until the 11th century, he said.

In a statement from the diocese, Bishop John Nienstedt said he has not seen the letter and does not know the names of those who signed it. He pointed out that 78 percent of the clergy did not sign the petition.

"I have no doubt but that the few priests who signed this petition, whomever they are, were concerned with finding a solution to the shortage of ordained ministers that we are presently experiencing. However, I believe that their action will have just the opposite effect and end up discouraging priestly vocations. From the moment I stepped foot in this Diocese, my number one priority has been to foster a lively context of a truly Catholic faith that will encourage young men and women to hear God's call to priestly and religious service in the Church. As Bishop Gregory, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Archbishop Dolan of Milwaukee said so eloquently in last August, the call to celibacy for the priest is a sign of his consecration to Jesus Christ in a unique and excellent way. It is also a fruitly source of self-giving love open to all with whom and for whom he ministers. In this historical moment, the gift of celibacy and its witness is needed now more than ever."

Irrgang said he realizes that optional celibacy is not likely to be supported by the Bishops Council, and especially by the Vatican, but these letters are a first step to what he thinks is an inevitable choice.