´Married priests could pose challenge for poor communities´

The Pope´s decision to make it easier for Anglicans to join the Catholic Church could pose a problem for some Catholics, says a bishop.

Bishop Carlito Cenzon of Baguio

He explained that married Anglican priests joining the Catholic Church and becoming Catholic priests could pose a financial burden for many Filipinos in poor Christian communities. “We have some communities that cannot even support their priest, what more if the priest is married with a family and assigned to a poor community?” he asked.

“I view the Pope´s move positively, but I do expect … challenges,” says Immaculate Heart of Mary Bishop Carlito Cenzon of Baguio.

Anglican Church official Most Reverend David Tabo-oy also anticipates Catholics having problems with married clergy.

“I am sure that there are Roman Catholic clergy who could not truly accept married priests among them,” said the rector of the Episcopal Cathedral of the Resurrection in Baguio City.

On Oct. 20, the Vatican announced that the Pope would create provisions to “allow former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church.”

During the press briefing, Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, also said that an upcoming papal document on the matter would provide “for the ordination as Catholic priests of married former Anglican clergy.”

However, in a statement released Oct. 31, he clarified that this would be “on a case by case basis,” as is the current practice in the Church.

Most Reverend Tabo-oy also foresees a more serious concern in Pope Benedict XVI´s recent move to welcome Anglicans.

“To some Anglican clergymen from the United States, Europe and Australia, it (the Pope´s invitation) will be looked on as a good ecumenical gesture,” he said. “But to the Anglican Church as a whole, the gesture will add to the fragmentation and division within the Church caused by the controversial issue of the ordination of gay and women bishops.”

American Anglican missionaries assigned in Baguio City and other northern Philippine provinces especially around the Cordillera mountain range founded the Episcopal Church of the Philippines in 1901.

Bishop Cenzon said the Pope´s move “must be viewed from the context of his desire to fulfill the Lord´s call” for all Christians “to be one.”

“Now it is up to the local Churches within both the Roman Catholic and Anglican communities to implement the Holy Father´s call,” he said.

There are six Anglican dioceses in the Philippines with 298 clergy serving some 130,000 members in 593 local congregations. The largest numbers of members are found in the Cordillera mountain region.