Both Victims and Priests Admit that Priests Are Lonely

(2010-06-11)
By Louise Haggett

Brunswick, ME, June 11, 2010—A recently released Special Report from CITI Ministries (Celibacy Is the issue) provides astonishing findings from a scientific study of Roman Catholic Priests conducted in 1997 (when priests were still candid), and a 1999 clergy sexual abuse Victim study. The CITI Special Report reveals:

From the Priest Study:

• Priests... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

     39 Popes Were Married!

  (2002-10-25)
  By Father John Shuster, Married Roman Catholic Priest
  
  My name is Father John Shuster.I am a married Roman Catholic priest. Please call me "John".
  
  I want to tell you about a crisis in our Roman Catholic Church. There is an alarming shortage of celibate priests.¹ The shortage is so acute that many parishes are being forced to close.² At the same time, there are over twenty thousand married priests here in the United States. To put that in better perspective, one out of eve... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     Closed parish recruits priest for Easter

  (2005-03-24) --The Patriot Ledger
  By Dennis Tatz
  
  QUINCY - A married Catholic priest from Duxbury will officiate at an Easter Mass organized by parishioners of the closed Star of the Sea Church in the city's Squantum section.
  
  The 11:30 a.m. service will be held at First Church of Squantum on Bellevue Road.
  
  "It wasn't the church building that made Star of the Sea Church what it was; it was the people," said Sean Patrick Glennon, co-chairman of the Friends of Star of the Sea.
  
  ... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     A Hire Power

  (2005-01-30) --The Boston Globe
  By Monica Collins
  
  The small ad in the regional edition of TV Guide appeared on the same page as the Sunday-night listings. It asked a simple question - "Is Your Church Closing?" - but it offered a complex solution: "Married priests are available." This was no stunt for Desperate Housewives. The ad pushed the services of married Roman Catholic priests for penance and Masses, urging, "Canon law says you can invite a married priest if you have no priest." The message... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     Priests who marry say they're fulfilled, and filling needs

  (2002-07-24) --Seattle Post-Intelligencer
  By Vanessa Ho
  
  When Anne Olson became engaged, she envisioned a grand Roman Catholic ceremony, complete with Communion and the Filipino and Hispanic traditions of the veil, lasso and 13 coins.
  
  But her goals began to wilt when she couldn't find a parish that could accommodate a Saturday wedding. Then she found "Rent a Priest," a national non-profit referral service for married priests, and last Saturday, she and her fiancé had their Catholic wedding in t... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     And You May Kiss the Priest

  (2002-08-18) --Seattle Weekly
  By Philip Dawdy
  
  While Catholic priests who abuse children get all the headlines, 22,000 have quietly left the active clergy to get married. The church wants nothing to do with them.
  
  Each day seems to bring news of yet another sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church. Last week it was the the Archdiocese of Seattle's turn, as it was hit with three lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by its priests.
  
  What's happening in Seattle and across the cou... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     People who need priests

  (2001-06-11) --San Francisco Chronicle
  By Jon Carroll
  
  WE ARE STILL trying to figure out what the Internet is good for. That's one of the reasons for the huge dot-com bust -- people created companies based on guesses. The guesses seemed logical, but they were wrong.
  
  Being wrong is fine. Being wrong with $50 million of other people's money is not fine. Hence the perception that it's all over. But it's not all over. The Internet is still teaching us what it is good at.
  
  People are still ... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     Bitter divorce

  (2002-07-25) --Boston Phoenix
  By Kristen Lombardi
  
  While the Church has spent millions to hush up its pedophiles, married priests can’t even collect their pensions.
  
  MARK SUTTON KNEW the act was "wrong" in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church. But after serving as a Franciscan monk and a clergyman for 24 years, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Sutton knew, too, that he could ease the pain and anguish of a grieving family, whose one wish was to witness their daughter’s baptism before she died.READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     Marriage of faith - these Catholic priests are honoring vows to God and family

  (2001-06-11) --The Boston Globe
  By Bella English
  
  The altar holds a candle, a basket of pita bread, a glass of wine - and a remote control clicker. Ron Ingalls is celebrating Mass in his Ashland living room.
  
  In Terry McDonough's Duxbury home, his wedding album sits next to his ordination album. On his IRS forms, he lists "priest" as his occupation. When he and his wife, Susan, attend church with their children, McDonough feels a painful stirring. "I'd love to be up there offering Mass in... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     Online, Married Priests Aid Flock at Odds With Church

  (2001-06-07) --The New York Times
  By Susan Saulny
  
  When Stephanie Krill became engaged last year, she knew exactly what kind of wedding she wanted: a traditional ceremony under a gazebo surrounded by blossoms, blessed by a Roman Catholic priest.
  
  She found the perfect place and booked it. She found the perfect dress and bought it. Then came the hard part: finding the priest. Of the few who were available, not one was willing to marry her outdoors because the church discourages wedding cerem... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     Holy Polemics! It's the Catholic Church vs. Rentapriest.com

  (2001-08-15) --Time Magazine
  By Jessica Reaves
  
  What makes a Catholic priest? Is it the Church? Or is it the people who seek him out? One website is asking those questions — and challenging the foundations of the Catholic Church.
  
  It's said that every problem carries with it the seeds of its solution, and so it is with rentapriest.com, a free service that matches Catholics looking for spiritual succor the Church can't provide with former Catholic clerics who have left the Church but can ... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     Fathers, Husbands and Rebels

  (2005-07-08) --Fathers, Husbands and Rebels
  By Elizabeth Mehren, Times Staff Writer
  
  BOSTON — The priests came from three states, converging on a suburban park one Sunday to conduct an outdoor Mass. Wearing white vestments with rainbow-hued stoles, they led the worshippers in prayer and song. They stuck closely to traditional Roman Catholic liturgy.
  
  But as they raised their arms in blessing, the five men revealed unmistakable proof of defiance: All wore wedding bands.
  
  These men, who still consider themselves Roman C... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     Married Priests Available for Holiday Sacramental Services

  (2004-11-10)
  By Louise Haggett
  
  Hundreds of Roman Catholic parishes have closed their doors in 2004, unsettling thousands among their flock. The closing of Churches has been going on for nearly 20 years due to a shortage of priests, but the problem is more deeply felt at this time because of the public revelations of the Church's sexual immorality, resulting in large financial settlements forcing more churches to close.
  
  So what is a person to do if he wants to go to con... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     Leuven Canonist Says: “Married Priests Are Valid”

  (2004-10-31)
  By Jennifer Haselberger
  
  Canon Lawyer Jennifer Haselberger recently chose CITI Ministries and Rent A Priest for her doctoral thesis at Leuven University in Belgium. She concluded that "the faithful have the right to approach ‘suspended’ priests for the sacraments." And, "Since an obligation to do this is expressed in the Code of Canon Law, it would seem that in ministering of these people the ‘Rent-A-Priests’ are acting in a canonically valid way." Haselberger also indic... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     Married Priests Available for Lenten Sacramental Services

  (2005-02-04)
  By Louise Haggett
  
  Hundreds of Roman Catholic parishes have closed their doors in 2004, unsettling thousands among their flock. The closing of Churches has been going on for nearly 20 years due to a shortage of priests, but the problem is more deeply felt at this time because of the public revelations of the Church's sexual immorality, resulting in large financial settlements forcing more churches to close.
  
  So what is a person to do if he wants to attend Ma... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     Public Forum III

  (2005-08-28)
  By Louise Haggett
  
  News Advisory:
  
  A public forum for Catholics and other interested parties will be held on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2005 at the Holiday Inn, 1200 Beacon Street, Brookline, Massachusetts, on the outskirts of Boston proper. Its purpose will be to review Canon Law (the body of laws of the church), especially those relating to celebrating Mass. It will explore the alternate worshipping styles that have taken place for many Catholics who no longer atte... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     Boston Church Groups Summon Married Priests For Easter Mass

  (2005-03-22)
  
  BOSTON CHURCH GROUPS SUMMON MARRIED PRIESTS FOR EASTER MASS
  
  Framingham, MA, March 21, 2005--Two Metro Boston Catholic Church congregations locked out of their church buildings by the Archdiocese of Boston have invited married Roman Catholic priests to preside over their Easter Sunday Liturgy. Friends of Star of the Sea Church of Quincy that closed in October, 2004 will have an Easter Mass Sunday, March 27, 11:30 am at the First Church of... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     For These Men, Once a Priest, Always a Priest

  (2005-12-23) --Scribb-Howard
  By Lisa Hoffman
  
  For more than 27 years, David Roeding was a Roman Catholic priest in northern Kentucky, where he helped couples prepare for marriage and ministered to divorced and separated Catholics.
  
  But in 1994, it was his own matrimony that led him to leave the institutionalchurch to which he had devoted most of his life. He had fallen in love so profoundly that he chose to give up his career within the church to marry Lynn, who he describes as his "... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     Need To Confess This Christmas, Try 'Rent-a-Priest'

  (2005-12-23) --Scribb-Howard
  By Lisa Hoffman
  
  If your parish church has closed because of a shortage of Roman Catholic clerics, and it's confession or midnight Mass you're seeking this Christmas, "Rent A Priest" stands ready to tend to your spiritual needs.
  
  The irreverently named referral service is an offshoot of a group called Celibacy Is The Issue, a national lay organization that claims a membership of some 2,500 former Catholic clerics who have resigned from the priesthood, mos... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     Personnel-Strapped Catholic Parishes Rent a Priest

  (2005-12-24) --The Washington Times
  By Julia Duin
  
  Christmas -- a time of extra church services and Masses -- is one of the most challenging holidays of the year for clergy, especially personnel-strapped Catholic parishes dealing with a shortage of priests.
  
  That's why Louise Haggett, a sales and marketing specialist from Maine, founded rentapriest.com, ensuring that Catholics across the country have a live celebrant at a Christmas Eucharist.
  
  "There are more than 5,000 parishes w... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     Future of the Catholic Church

  (2006-11-03)
  By Joe Feuerhed
  
  The Catholic gatherings were separated by 25 miles and five days. In fact, they were worlds apart.
  
  The first meeting, held on a balmy late summer Saturday in a nondescript suburban Washington hotel, had a more narrow agenda if the broader title -- “Catholics: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.” Sponsored by the Brunswick, Maine-based group Celibacy Is the Issue, it drew more than 100 participants, including married priests who once served th... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     Married clergy ready to help Catholic Church cope with shortage of priests

  (2007-02-20) --http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=63377&title=TOP%20STORIES&catId=6
  By www.wkyc.com
  
  "Rent A Priest" website offers services of married priests
  
  Sunday was a big day for young Henry Daniel Gruler at St. Hilary parish in Fairlawn, Ohio. At the beginning of Mass, the baby boy was welcomed into the Catholic Church by immersion in the baptismal font.
  
  Father Gordon Yahner held the infant as he recited the age old invocation, "I baptise you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit."
  
  In his l... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     Finding God on the Information Superhighway

  (2006-11-03)
  By Kristen Surprise
  
  What began as an organization for Catholics struggling with the politics of the Church became an international phenomenon of resigned or married Catholic priests looking for work. Rentapriest.com is one of the latest trends in the non-profit business world.
  
  "It’s a free referral service; it may sound like business, but it’s not a business - it’s a ministry," Louise Haggett, president and founder of rentapriest.com, says. Haggett’s websit... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     Letter to the Editor of Civilita Catolica

  (2007-01-02)
  By Louise Haggett
  
  Letter to the Editor,
  Civilita Catolica ( NO H)
  In response to your article with statistics regarding priests who leave, I believe the following will be of interest.
  
  Dispensation Requests Treated Differently by Different Popes
  
  Brunswick, ME, November 15, 2006--The Vatican recently announced that a summit meeting would take place on Thursday, November 16, in part to "examine requests for dispensation made by priests wishi... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
  
  

  

     Outside the Church, Men of rentapriest.com Perform Weddings and Other Services

  (2005-10-27) --Seattle Times staff reporter
  By Jack Broom
  
  One is a psychotherapist. Another is a retired travel agent. A third sells medical equipment.
  
  But Sean Patrick O'Reilly, Ralph Bastian and John Shuster share an additional identity: Each is an ordained Catholic priest.
  
  Each has left the church as an organization, but still — without official church approval — maintains a type of ministry.
  
  "I checked out of the institution. I left the system. But I never left the church," said... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE