How long does laicization take

Would entering a religious community mean that I would have to sever my relationships with family and friends? Why would anybody become a priest nowadays?

School was never something I really liked. Is the study part of formation very hard? If I request information about joining a religious organisation, will I be pressured into joining? Do religious communities offer a trial period? Are religious orders different from one another?

If so, how are they different? I am a social worker with 20 years experience in mental health. My wife works for Hospice. We both would like to offer our talents to the church but feel like we have to keep a low profile until the marriage issue is resolved.

It doesn't seem right. I asked two other former priest friends both therapists if they went, or are going through, the dispensation process for their marriages. They both thought I was crazy. Given the time and frustration experienced by this process, I think they may be right. I just don't get it. So many of us could be of service to the church but are so limited in serving because of this fear of "scandal". John, I haven't read the church document you submitted but I read your blog and say "right on" to your comments Thanks for your post..

My boyfriend is now going thorugh all this process of laicization. He tells me he was not a priest, he was a 'step' before becoming one, when he decided he wanted to leave the Church. For what I read here this process seems to be only for priests, is there the possibility that he is lying to me???? No I am in absolute shock!!!! I do not want to think he is lying, but now I just can't help to feel this horrible fear!!

I am from a latin background and now I am living in an Anglosaxon country, I do not want to think that this man, who I feel I know or knew, is taking advantage of my stupidity and lack of knowledge about the life of priests. I know he was living in another part of the country and since he left the 'congregation' that is how he refers to it he moved to this other city, where he is teaching in a Catholic elementary school!!!! We have already talked about many things, I love him I really do and I am terrified now, because what if he is lying to me?

He is 42 and I am 34 now, so we have even started planing the wedding date and how my family will come from my country, but today when I suggested I would make an appointment with the priest of my parish to talk about the marriage preparation sessions he told me we cannot make it official yet!! Is this process only for priests?? He has never been married. He is not a pedofiliac at least not that I know so how long could it take?? Could you recomend me any other good website to learn more about this??

Please I need help! Conrad assisted with this blog, maybe he can give you more information about if going through the laicization process is necessary for a Deacon. A transitional deacon is ordained in one of a series of steps leading to priestly ordination one step away ; a permanent deacon never intends to be ordained a priest.

In either case, a promise of lifetime celibacy is demanded as a condition for ordination. Being ordained a deacon makes the subject a member of the clergy and gives rise to the impediment of Orders, effectively preventing the person from entering a marriage that the Church would recognize as valid. For whatever comfort it might be, laicization of a deacon is granted for less serious reasons than is the laicization of a priest.

In either case, the process can seem very long yes, forever! I am presuming that he went through the prescribed channels of making his petition through the bishop of the diocese for which he was ordained or his diocese of residence, with permission from the diocese of ordination. I see no reason to believe that your boyfriend is lying to you, at least not about the process of laicization.

Fact is, he himself has no way of knowing how long the process will take. My own dispensation was granted in ten months. If everything is in order and above board between you two, your decision to postpone sex until after marriage is, of course, admirable, and postponing the marriage until the laicization is granted bespeaks your fidelity to the Church.

The facts of your case do, however, prompt me to give voice to some reservations. This could suggest that his decision to seek ordination was impulsive; would a decision to marry be equally immature at this point? Is this man capable of a lifelong commitment at this time? Interestingly enough, this might also be instrumental in getting the dispensation granted!

Is he being honest with you about his sexual orientation, or is he possibly a closet homosexual? Not that that would prevent you from getting married, but it would certainly be something that must be honestly shared, put on the table and dealt with. I would strongly suggest a pre-marriage seminar such as the Engaged Encounter, or some other form of premarital counselling, in which such suspicions, if they exist, could be surfaced and resolved.

God bless, and good luck! I'm currently involved with a priest who served for 5 years and is currently going through the lacization process, however it's been 2 years. Is that normal? We do not connect personally out of repect of his vocation, however we talk through Facebook.

I read above that it normally takes 1 year. Can you find any reason as to why his case will take this long? Anonymous, Normally, he would received an update from the Diocese or Religious Order after a year or so to indicate where it is in the process. It is not uncommon for it to take a couple of years. He could ask his Bishop what the status of it is.

Hello and thank you for the information provided in this article. I am in the process of writing a novel about a priest who leaves the Church and I was wondering if you could answer a few questions about the process.

In the case of a voluntary request for laicization i. I lost my faith and I'm in love with a woman , how long would it normally take for the indult? During the waiting period would there be an expectation whether realistic or not that the priest should maintain his celibacy until the dispensation is formally granted?

I noticed one of the conditions was that the laicized priest not teach at a Catholic institution or teach theology anywhere. Is that enforceable? What about teaching religious studies at a public university? And lastly, are there certain careers that ex-priest gravitate towards other than teaching which I assume would be top of the list? Thanks so much for your help.

It is greatly appreciated. Mzadragon, In your novel are you going to indicate the priest both lost his faith and is in love with a woman? Most priests have not lost their faith when they have loved a woman. Progressing with the relationship of love is often understood by the priest to be the will of God, even though the hierarchy will think otherwise. Yes, both happen - they are separate but related struggles the character is facing. The relationship is a catalyst that leads to a crisis of faith that has already been brewing for a long period prior to their meeting.

The idea that the relationship might be understood as the will of God is given consideration, as is the idea that the character might retain his faith even if he chooses to leave the priesthood.

But ultimately the decision to request laicization is motivated by both. I hope you understand that the crisis of faith you refer to the priest having is all orchestrated by what the hierarchy considers to be "correct" belief. To have an accurate understanding you need to see that what the hierarchy considers to be authentic faith is actually Catholic fundamentalism.

Many priests wake up to the fact that they have been brainwashed into believing that what the hierarchy has defined as authentic faith is really Catholic fundamentalism. In any other setting, teachings such as mandated celibacy would be dismissed as man-made nonsense that does not reflect the will of God as seen in the scriptures.

What you call a "crisis of faith" is really the priest awakening to the fact that his faith has not been defined by God, but by an institution that has an agenda to empower itself, i. It is not a crisis of faith, rather it is an awakening. The priest still has a robust faith in God but has lost faith in the institution, which has equated itself with God. Or more properly understood, has placed itself over God.

If the purpose of your novel is to continue to support Catholic fundamentalism, I want nothing to do with it. I was ordained June 23, and resigned March of I was civilly married September and now having three siblings. My bishop gave me the "word" to leave my ministry and live with the woman. Along that span of years, can I now apply for dispensation and consequently, laicization? Ronnie Bolongaita, Philippines. Ronnie, Yes, you can progress with a laicization.

Who is responsible for him? Clerics who commit sexual abuse are charged under a canon c. In these cases, he said, the Church applies a canon c. When it comes to the responsibility of bishops in abuse cases, Astigueta said that while expectations might have been murky in the past, they are clear now, and require the bishop to act immediately. A bishop must first intervene on a judicial level, alerting civil authorities, but also on the pastoral level, he said, explaining that the process looks different for every nation.

This choice might also be made in situations where there is risk of a serious scandal, he said. Once a priest is found guilty, the bishop will have to carry out the sentence, and it may even be the bishop himself to enforce the decree of dismissal from the clerical state with the authority of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Astigueta explained.

Astigueta also spoke on cases of negligence on the part of a bishop, which Pope Francis in his motu proprio Come una madre amorevole established as grounds for removal from office.

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