MILWAUKEE — More than 160 Milwaukee-area priests have signed a letter calling for married men to be permitted to enter the priesthood.
“We join our voices to those of so many others at this time, voices urging that (the) diocesan priesthood now be open to married men as well as to celibate men,” said the letter circulated in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
Copies of the letter were mailed to 442 active and retired diocesan priests and 128, or 29 percent, returned signed copies, the organizers said. Another 35 priests in religious orders signed copies, the Associated Press reported.
They hope the letter will spark dialogue on the issue of optional celibacy due to the shortage of priests, said Tom Suriano, pastor of St. Patrick Church in Whitewater, Wis.
Catholic priests are required to take a vow of celibacy and are forbidden to be married.
Robert Silva, president of the National Federation of Priests’ Councils, said he would ask that the letter be discussed by the Committee on Priestly Life and Ministry, which is a subcommittee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
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