Folia Canonica 4. (2001)
STUDIES - Pablo Gefaell: Clerical Celibacy
76 PABLO GEFAELL tolic See, from the late eighth century onwards - especially in the years around 1930 - has established restrictive norms for the oriental priests who exercise their ministry in the American continent and in Australia,2 even if those norms have not always been fully observed, and many people have asked that they be revoked.3 One author has affirmed that, according to the can. 6, 1 of the CCEO, after the promulgation of the new oriental Code every particular norm of the Apostolic See that tightened the immigration of married clergy to “Latin territories” should be considered abrogated, because it would be contrary to the prescription of CCEO can. 393.4 Moreover, the author affirms that now there are no canonical norms of the Apostolic See that prevent ordination of married men in the Eastern Churches, even in the “Latin territories”, because the former prohibitions were only a implicitly result of the prohibition of the presence of married clergy in those territories, and “if an immigrant married clergy is now permitted there can be no possible case for an implicit or derived prohibition of ordaining a married clergy”.5 This could be an interesting opinion. Still, this author is changing the sense of CCEO can. 393 (maybe because of an unclear translation of it). This canon simply indicates the duty of all priests (even the married ones) to show themselves ready to serve wherever there is a grave necessity. The norm does not establish a duty of going to those places, let alone a right of doing so. Consequently, the canon does not abrogate the former prohibitions. That those 2 In these young countries, which underwent a big immigration flow, in order to avoid a potential scandal of the faithful, prevalently Latin, the immigration of oriental priests and also the ordination of married candidates were forbidden. The widower priests were allowed to immigrate to those countries, but without their children. Cf., for the Ukrainians and Ruthenians, them.p. Cum data fuerit (1929) for the United States {AAS 21 [1929], 152-159); m.p. Graeci-Rutheni Ritus ( 1930) for Canada {AAS 22 [1930] 346-354); and m.p. Qua sollerti (in force from 1930) for the rest of the catholic oriental clergy who exercised the ministry anywhere in America and Australia {AAS 22 [1930], 99-105). Theoretically, also the Italo-Albanian Church in Italy forbids the ordination of married man, but this prohibition is not observed. 3 On August 29 1992 the patriarch and the Synod of the Greek-Melkite catholic Church declared that the custom of ordaining married men will be everywhere resumed. 4 Cf. R. Cholij, An Eastern Catholic Married Clergy in North America: Recent Changes in Legal Status and Ecclesiological Prespective, in Studia Canonica 31 (1997) 311-339 [specially 323-325]. CCEO can. 393 states: “Clerics, whatever their condition, are to care in their heart for all of the Churches, and therefore to show themselves ready to serve wherever there is great necessity; especially to exercise their ministry in the missions or in regions laboring under a shortage of clergy, with the permission or encouragement of their own eparchial bishop or superior”. [Clericis, cuiuscumque sunt condicionis, cordi sit sollicitudo omnium Ecclesiarum et ideo se ad inserviendum, ubicumque urget necessitas, promptos exhibeant et praesertim permittente vel exhortante proprio Episcopo eparchiali vel Superiore ad suum ministerium in missionibus vel regionibus clericorum penuria laborantibus exercendum]. 5 Cholij, An Eastern (nt. 4), 325.
