More than one source has informed us that the Diocese of Rochester may soon be ordaining a local married man as a Latin rite Catholic priest. According to our sources, the man will be ordained a transitional deacon this June, and would then be ordained a priest in 2011. The candidate is a father of six children, and (presumably) a former Protestant minister, who converted to the Catholic faith a little over a decade ago. I believe this will be only the second married priest to be licitly ordained for the Diocese of Rochester (the other being Melvin Walczak, a former Polish National priest who has since returned to that schismatic religion). There have been a couple married priests from Rochester who have illicitly sought ordination. It is believed that the Vatican has granted permission for this ordination to occur.
Prior to this news story, the Diocese of Rochester was about to embark on three straight years of no priestly ordinations.
Cleansing Fire will continue to investigate this story, so stay tuned.
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Mel Walczak did not require ordination as he was validly ordained. He was accepted as a Catholic priest by rescript of the Holy See.
Thank you. That is correct.
Would this then be the first married man (not divorced/widowed) to be ordained in DoR history?
~Dr. K
That's the sound of Ray Grosswirth punching his keyboard!
Makes me wonder about the thousands of validly ordained priests who would have remained in ministry but left to marry. I wonder what their response is to this.
I don't understand this. I thought that if you were married you could be a deacon but not a priest. How did he get ordained? Did his wife die?
We are just as unsure as you are. We will be sure to let you all know the moment we get word on anything pertaining to this.