Priests And Nuns That Leave Their Orders....

[Ash Wednesday]

So what exactly is the situation when priests and nuns leave their vocation? I've always been curious about this.

There are four that I know of that happened with some people I know. Two were obvious no-no's... one was giving "consolation" to a depressed parishioner and now he's no longer a priest and they live together in sin (the last I heard)... believe me when I heard this I was absolutely shocked, I knew of this woman and she was really hardcore Catholic. She got a brain tumor or something when this happened so maybe she went a little bonkers but really I'm not sure what the whole story is. It's pretty horrifying, especially with the priest.

The other is a former priest that is married to a former nun. I really have no idea what was up with that but it's all pretty left field to me. My brother and his wife insisted on an outdoor wedding -- the Catholic priests they knew wouldn't do it (since Church weddings are in a CHURCH) so they got married by this guy -- at an old Catholic seminary where they had an outdoor altar that was once used to say Masses. But I don't think their wedding was a true Church wedding blessed by the Catholic church, which is sad. They tend towards liberalism anyway -- *sigh* (pray for them with me)

So those two cases don't appear to be kosher.....

The two that I wonder about -- my best friend knew a priest in college who felt that priests should be able to marry but he remained celibate. However NOW I learned recently that he left the priesthood, got married, and are both attending a Catholic university here. I don't remember the details, but I think(?) I'm really not sure (???) that they were helping with a ministry there or something. I don't know what their standing with the Church is though.

The other, is my aunt. She was once a nun, she was a nun for years. And I don't know if she retired and THEN got married, or what. But from my understanding, she went through whatever process she needed to go through to leave her order. But she apparently is still in good standing with the Church, she and her husband are devout Catholics, they don't have kids because they married when they were fairly old and beyond childbearing age. She still keeps her nun name though.

So my question is, what do priests and nuns do in the case of leaving their vows? Is it a lifelong vow? Or do they get permission from a bishop or superior in these cases?

[BLAZEr]

This is complicated and has several different levels:

Ordained priests who are not vowed religious (diocesan priests). First of all, a once a priest always and forever a priest. The sacrament of Holy Orders cannot be undone. If a man is validly ordained a priest he is always and forevermore a priest. Now, as a priest he makes promises of obedience and celibacy to his bishop as well as a promise to live simply. There are certain responsibilities and obligations he has as priest as well: To celebrate Sunday mass and othertimes as often as possible, to pray the Liturgy of the Hours, to provide for the sacramental needs of those in his pastoral care.

Now, for various reasons a priest can be dismissed from the clerical state, both at his request and as punishment for some offense. If a priest is released from the clerical state his permission to celebrate the sacraments is revoked (all priests must offer the sacraments in communion with the church through their local bishop). He also can be released from his duties as a cleric (no longer has to pray the Liturgy of the Hours, and no longer has pastoral care for people). He can be given permission to marry within the church, however this is becoming more rare.

In case of emergency he could still fulfill his sacramental role (i.e. hearing a deathbed confession, absolving someone in immediate danger of death).

Now, vowed religious who are not priests: There is a long process before a person enters into final and permanent vows as a brother or sister in a religious order. Usually it takes from 5 to 13 years. During this time the vows are temporary, usually for a year but can be longer. It is easy to release a person from these vows, or to not renew them if they want to leave. No harm, no foul. However, if they have taken their permament, lifelong vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience there is a long process and ivestigation that occurs in order to be released from them. Sometimes, a person who leaves their religious order is not released from them. However, assuming that they are released from their vows, they are returned to the lay state and can participate in the life of the church as a lay person. They are not allowed to wear their religious garb unless their order permits them to remain in the Third Order level of their order. (I know a franciscan nun who did this).

Now, for Religous order priests the process is somewhat combined.

Cappie and Fr. Pontifex should be able to fill in any holes I left in my reply.

Suffice to say that there are canonical procedures to release people from their religious consecration and the obligations of their vowed religious or priestly life.