Detroit Free Press (MCT) - There are few women who can say they are married to a Roman Catholic priest. And few people who can say their dad is the man whom Catholic churchgoers address formally as "Father Steve."
Advertisement
But Cindy Anderson and her three sons can, and they were among the rush of congregants who gathered for 10 a.m. mass on a recent Sunday at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church in Goodrich, Mich.
The parish priest is Cindy's husband and the father of Austin, 24, Steven Jr., 14, and Christian, 11. The Rev. Steve Anderson has been a Catholic priest since 2003, when he became the second priest in Michigan to be ordained under an exception to the Catholic Church's celibacy rule for married ministers serving some Protestant denominations.
About 100 married men, mostly ministers in Episcopal churches in the United States, have sought permission from the Vatican to be ordained as Catholic priests since Pope John Paul II allowed it in 1980.
"It does take some explanation, for sure," said Austin Anderson, an automotive engineer. "People think I don't know what I'm talking about, at first. 'Maybe you mean deacon,' they say. 'Maybe you mean another denomination.'"
Then there's the joke he hears whenever he explains what Dad does for a living: "Do you call him 'Father father'?"
NOVELTY WELCOMED
For Cindy Anderson, being a priest's wife has meant a rare and challenging role.
"I've heard good response," the 49-year-old said. "I hear ... we'd like to see more of this. I've been well-received. Some say, 'We've been ready for this.'"
Laura Sullivan, a Kettering University mechanical engineering professor, is one of them. She followed Anderson from his previous parish, Holy Family in Grand Blanc, Mich., to his current posting.
"This is somebody my kids could talk to. Somebody married people can relate to. He brought such a fresh breath of air," Sullivan said after Sunday mass.
Kathie Trombley, another St. Mark parishioner, concurred.
"He inspires us all. I don't know of anybody who had a problem with" his being married, said Trombley. "As far as his preaching, having a wife has just enhanced it."
Michael Diebold, a spokesman for the Diocese of Lansing, Mich., which oversees Anderson, acknowledged that parishioners have welcomed the novelty of a married priest, a concept that flies counter to the Vatican's unwavering support for priestly celibacy.
"If there are people who find he's more approachable because of that reason, then that's a good thing," said Diebold. "Not to denigrate all the single priests who are out there, but if there's a segment of the population that finds that to be a positive in their lives, that's a good thing."
NOT AGAINST CELIBACY
Both Anderson and the Rev. William Lipscomb, a Traverse City, Mich., parish pastor who in 1997 was the first married Episcopalian minister in Michigan to be ordained a Catholic priest, say they are not campaigning for an end to Rome's celibacy requirement.
"I'm a priest. I'm not a policy-setter," said Anderson, 50.
He carefully avoids taking sides, but he doesn't believe his marriage and family have impeded his ministry.
"As a married man, you see the fruitfulness and legitimacy of a married priesthood," said Anderson. "The ancient way is for priests to have been married. ... That's not the way it's done now."
From St. Patrick Catholic Church in Traverse City, Lipscomb, who is about to become a grandfather for the first time on Holy Thursday, April 9, said he concurs with the celibacy requirement.
"I agree with the rule. ... I'm not carrying a banner to change the rules. If something happens to my wife, I'm going to be what every other priest is," said Lipscomb, 70.
He and his wife, Shirley, live in a house they own a few miles from the church, instead of the parish rectory. Their four children are grown _ two of them are now Catholic. He officiated at one son's Catholic wedding last year.
Both Lipscomb and Anderson said their faith journeys to the Catholic Church weren't motivated by controversy over ordaining women and gay priests in the Episcopal Church.
Lipscomb said he was drawn to Catholicism, in part, because he was impressed with the Catholic priests and services he encountered while serving as an Episcopal chaplain for 28 years in the Air Force.
Anderson's journey has taken him through the Presbyterian Church of his youth, to earning degrees from the conservative fundamentalist Oral Roberts University. In 1995, he became an ordained minister in the Charismatic Episcopal Church, a movement founded in 1992 and described as a blend between traditional Episcopalian practices with a Pentecostal influence. Anderson founded a Charismatic Episcopal Parish in Brighton called Church of the Resurrection.
Anderson said it was his readings of early Christian scholarly works that fueled his desire to become a Catholic.
"I didn't come in out of a reaction. I came because God was guiding me that ...
If you look at Church History, you will see that Priests were married for many years. In fact, being married was not a distraction, but helped unite the Priest with the people in many ways that an unmarried Priest would not be capbale of. If the Holy See gives permission to Episcopalian ministers who are married to become ordained Catholic Priests, then who is to bar other married men who have the same desire to serve the Lord through vocation to the Priesthood while also living up to their vocation to marriage? If you can make an exception for a handful, then you can most certianly make it for all. You are setting a precedent which you are not willing to live up to, it's BAD policy.
Joseph Provost | 4/10/2009
At the risk of sounding "uncharitable", I'm happy to welcome these unique Fathers and their families, however I also believe that a Catholic Priest who has both a family and a parish of at least 800 families to minister to would have to "choose" his ministry to the church over that of his wife and children. I don't believe that would please Our Lord, and I don't believe He is asking that of His Priests. That's why we as Catholics have the separate Sacraments of Marriage and Holy Orders. Gloria Ramirez
Gloria Ramirez | 4/9/2009
Believe that it would be more accurate to say that Eastern Rites "allow married persons to be ordained priests" rather than stating that they "allow priests to marry." I do not believe that these denominations allow an ordained priest to marry. With all due respect to our Fathers mentioned in this article, I am glad that the Catholic Church has maintained a tradition of celibacy for priests for many reasons.
Comments that include profanity, personal attacks, antisocial behavior such as "spamming" and "trolling," or other inappropriate comments or material will not be posted on Catholic Online. Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our terms of service. While Catholic Online invites robust discussion, we maintain the right to not print material that is patently false in its claims concerning the teaching of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, overtly anti-Catholic or which, in the opinion of the moderator, are intended to mislead readers as to what the Catholic Church teaches. Comments DO NOT necessarily reflect the opinion or views of Catholic Online.
RSS | Make Catholic Online Your Homepage
