Long Island Man Becomes Married Catholic Priest

Janet Joyce Sunday, January 27, 2013

John Cornelius, aLong Islandresident, became the first married Catholic priest on Saturday in an ordination ceremony.  Previously Cornelius, 64, was Episcopalian.  He has three daughters, all of whom watched in the pews as he took his new vow of chastity.  “It’s wonderful,” Cornelius said after the ceremony was over. “I feel like I’ve been working my whole life to answer God’s call and here I am.”

Buffalo Bishop Richard Malone oversaw the ceremony along with several other Catholic priests.  After he was anointed a Catholic Father, Cornelius was able to perform the rest of the rites, including the Eucharist.  His wife, Sharyl, has supported him in his conversion, even though it means giving up sex.  Cornelius says that he views sex as a divine gift which is intended for procreation, and that since he has already raised three children, he was ready for a change in his life. 

While this is a historicLong Islandevent, it is not, as many news sources have reported, the first time there has been a married Catholic priest.  Indeed, there are about 80 married Catholic priests in theUSalone.  There used to be a number of married Roman Catholic priests, but that practice was banned in 1123 by the First Lateran Council.  Roman Catholic married priests began to crop up again after 1980, when the Church decreed that Protestant clergymen who converted to Catholicism to become priests could remain married.  There are also other Catholic churches like the Ukrainian Catholic Church, which have always ordained men who were married, though they still forbid marriage of men who are already ordained. 

On New Year’s Day, an announcement came from the Vatican that there would be a new ordinariate for Episcopalian priests who want to convert to Catholicism.  The ordinariate is a way of making the transition faster and easier for those who want to join the ranks of the Catholic priesthood.  John Cornelius may be the first to take advantage of the new ordinariate to convert, but many more will likely follow.  Since 1970 there has been a huge drop in the number of Catholic priests in the US, many of whom have stated they left in order to get married.  With declining numbers of celibate priests, the Vatican really has no choice but to open new inroads if it wants to continue to thrive.

janetj@longislandyellowpages.com

Appears In: Local Events , Entertainment

 

 

• Business News
• Education
• Entertainment
• Jobs & Careers
• Local Events
• Local Steals, Deals & More
• Press Releases
• Restaurants & Food
• Sports & Recreation

Columnists John M.   Show all Columnists