Married priests in Amazon - just a matter of time 

The Apostolic Exhortation Querida Amazonia or Beloved Amazon just published, confirms that, in Pope Francis’ pontificate, politics takes priority over religion. While keeping his foot on the accelerator of “integral ecology,” he has brought the synod’s religious agenda to a sudden stop.

For the conservatives who fervently defended priestly celibacy, they have reason to be satisfied, or else if Pope Francis had agreed to allow for married priests in the Amazon it would have been a schism within the church. Now the “defenders of faith” can look down on promoters of the married priests/ viri probati, and deaconesses in the Amazon region.

However, traditionally celibacy or the ban of married priests, is not a matter of Canon Law. It’s a tradition, enforced by popes over at least 1,100 years to free priests to be available for mission. But the rule is not absolute. Married Anglican priests who convert to Catholicism may after evaluation and special dispensation from the pontiff be allowed to be Catholic priests but can´t remarry if their wife dies. Data shows that there are 125 married priests, mostly from former Episcopalians, serving in the United States.

When one analyses the discourses of Pope Francis, he raises hopes of people and afterwards keeps them in suspense, but at the bottom line it’s good to generate provocative thinking of the faithful.

The pontiff speaks to different and unique groups of people in the world for example: to gays he told them “who I am to judge you”, to Catholics, “it’s better to be an atheist than to be hypocrite Catholic who most times live a double life”. In this message to atheists he recognised their unique contributions in comparasion to ‘most’ hateful and judgemental Christians. To the Communists he says “they are really closet Christians” meaning that they are fighting to reform capitalism that is distroying humanity, nature and the poor similar sentiments shared by the church´s social teaching. To indigenous people he valued their contribution living sustainable with the nature etc.

To me the pope´s message to these groups echoed a pastoral voice to those who are not getting enough attention from mainstream society to be listened to and valued. Also the different messages to different groups sprang topics of heated discourse within the church with the aim of seeing the good in them and hopefully have an effect on the ground with a view to generating diverse pastoral approaches of the church in our modern world.

The topic of having married priests in the Amazon, of which Guyana is part, I think will happen in its own time. Pope Francis just pushed the button to raise hopes of the people. I believe it´s not impossible but it’s an issue that needs to be carefully discerned and thought out.

Perhaps the Bishops of the Amazon could allow it in their respective dioceses. After all the Bishops are ones in charge of their flock in their respective countries in the Amazon. They know their people and the needs of the local church in the dioceses.

But personally, will married priests solve the problem of shortage of priests in Guyana? For me it’s no. Take the history of Santa Rosa where I am from. My ancestors who came from Venezuela were Catholic when they arrived in Moruca 200 years ago. They survived thirty years without a priest to minister to their spiritual needs. When the priest arrived, he found them strongly united and firm in their Catholic faith. They carried it on by themselves with a lay leader; except the need for some special sacraments like celebration of the Holy Mass that only the priests could perform.

They were grounded in their faith as lay people. So priests or no priests they continued.

The same occurs in the Rupununi and Pakaraimas over the years, where the people are trained and empowered to carry on the local church. This means, they are less dependent on priests or not much priestly oriented in contrast to other areas of the diocese where priests are perceived almost as power houses and gods. This pastoral reality of the indigenous people in Guyana showed that the church in the interior already had the Amazonian face led by lay people. Except the need for important sacraments like marriage, confirmation inter alia which are performed quarterly by the visiting sacerdote.

Thus, married lay people in the interior continue to do wonderful work for the church, despite there being challenges and difficulties. This being said, the danger is having too many priests and missionaries among them to jeopardise the unique church approach by over clericalizing it, which can disempower the laity. If this happens, it would be sad.

As a lay man I am not against priests and sacramental ministries, I valued their pastoral roles shepherding the faithful. But where a cultural tradition of a lay led church or lay vocations has been cultivated over the years, it should not be thrown out of the window for something new which we haven’t fully understood.

In conclusion, from an anthropological standpoint, before western religions like Catholicism entered indigenous culture how did we survive? Having priests and missionaries to journey with us are all “new” traditions and practices. This doesn´t mean that we must ignore the conventional vocations to the priesthood, religious life mission, and the teaching of Christ to bring people closer to God.

M.A