Married Priests Available for Holy Week

Holy Week and Easter services, considered among the most holy in the Catholic Church,will not take place in many of the U.S. parishes this year due to a severeshortage of priests. Recent and continuing sexual abuse revelations haveresulted in shortfalls and churches closing in most dioceses, leaving parishioners with no Lenten or other rituals. Nursing homes and other institutions are also without sacramental or pastoral assistance.

Rentapriest.com, a free referral service of CITI Ministries (Celibacy Is the Issue) offers contact information for married priests in almostevery state. They are available for confession, Mass, blessings and other Holy Week services in parishes, public halls, private homes as well as nursing homes, prisons and other institutions.

Church law has provisions for the use of married priests either in orout of the church building, when no priest is available, providing the request comes from the people of God, the organization says. Church law also says that "practice can become law" in the church (Canon Law #27). Many are reminded that female altar servers were not allowed in the 1980s. However, parishes just ignored the Vatican dictates and used them anyway. The same can happen with married priests, it adds.

More than 70,000 individuals have been spiritually served by married priests over the past 10 years. Baptisms, marriages, anointing of the sick, funerals, in-home Mass are just a few examples.

According tofounder/president Louise Haggett, "CITI is not a protest organization. We see our work as an adjunct to the church, which has been quietly applauded by several bishops. We exist only to provide ministry where needed becauseof the tremendous shortages. We also serve many people who have been turned away by the Catholic institution: divorced Catholics, interfaith situations and others. Jesus never turned anyone away. Neither will married priests."

More information and a list of priests are available at http://www.rentapriest.com/ or by calling 1-800-PRIEST 9 (774-3789). According to Haggett, "No one should be without Easter services, and it'sunlikely that any hierarchical figure will stop parishes from inviting married priests without permission. Several home Masses are already scheduled to celebrate during Holy Week.

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'Faith-Based' Case Deals with Narrow, But Important Issue, Group Says

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether taxpayers may challenge the Bush administration's use of general appropriations to promote its "faith-based" agenda.

In 2005, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that three Wisconsin taxpayers had legal standing to challenge President Bush's creation of a White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and other promotion of his faith-based initiative.

The Bush administration asked the high court to overrule the decision, arguing that under current court precedent, taxpayers may only challenge congressional appropriations of funds if the money goes to religious organizations. The executive branch's use of general appropriations to set up its faith-based office and promote a faith-based agenda are not fit subjects for legal challenge, the administration argued.

"This is a relatively narrow question," says Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, "but it's quite important. We believe that no tax money should be spent to advance religion. It's essential that the justices uphold the principle that taxpayers can go to court when their money is being used to advance religion."

Hein v. Freedom from Religion Foundation will be the first church-state case to come before the high court since two Bush appointees -- Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito -- have taken seats there.

Says Lynn, "Both Roberts and Alito expressed general support for church-state separation during their confirmation hearings. This case will be a good opportunity for them to put that viewpoint to good use."

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.



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