This article (A Brief History of Celibacy in the Catholic Church) states:

"In the Latin Church, one may be a married priest if one is a life-long Catholic but promises never again to have sexual relations with ones wife."

Is that statement true? A married catholic man can become priest if he promises to no longer have sex with his wife? Are there any documents saying that?


The author may be invoking the Code of Canons of the African Church, which is a Patristic document from the 5th Century — actually, a 5th Century compilation of the Canons of nearly twenty synods held in ancient Africa (mostly Carthage) starting from the middle of the Fourth Century. It was held in some regard by the 1st Millennium Church, and these Canons were invoked (and in a certain sense, misinterpreted) by the Fathers of the Council in Trullo in defense of a married priesthood.


Canon 3. Of Continence:


Canon 4. Of the different orders that should abstain from their wives:



Canon 25. Concerning bishops and the lower orders who wait upon the most holy mysteries. It has seemed good that these abstain from their wives:


Canon 38. That clerics or those who are continent shall not visit virgins or widows:

Neither clerics nor those who profess continence should enter the houses of widows or virgins without the bidding or consent of the bishops or presbyters: and then let them not go alone, but with some other of the clergy, or with those assigned by the bishop or presbyter for this purpose; not even bishops and presbyters shall go alone to women of this sort, except some of the clergy are present or some other grave Christian men.

Canon 70. What clerics should abstain from their wives:

Moreover since incontinence has been charged against some clergymen with regard to their own wives it has seemed good that bishops, presbyters, and deacons should according to the statutes already made abstain even from their own wives; and unless they do so that they should be removed from the clerical office. But the rest of the clergy shall not be forced to this but the custom of each church in this matter shall be followed.

As you can see, the same matter is repeated again and again across several canons; this makes sense if one recalls that this is a compilation of the canons of several individual councils.

At any rate, even though it shows that this practice of admitting married men to the clergy was, in the time of the Empire, tolerated, this is not the case today, as Andrew Leach correctly answered. Ecclesiastical discipline is subject to change if the Holy Father thinks it convenient.


This is not what the 1983 Code of Canon Law says.

  1. The following are simply impeded from receiving orders:

    1. a man who has a wife, unless he is lawfully destined for the permanent diaconate;


A "simple" impediment is one which applies at the time in question but is not permanent. That is, if a man later becomes unmarried (which means he is widowed, in practice), the impediment no longer applies and he can receive orders.

But while he is married, even if he separates from his wife or promises not to have conjugal relations, he is impeded from receiving orders.

It's the same in the 1917 Pio-Benedictine Code of Canon Law, although that is even more restrictive, applying to putative permanent deacons as well:

  1. Sunt simpliciter impediti:

    1. Viri uxorem habentes;

  1. Simply impeded are:

    1. Men having wives;

Thus the Future Church site can't be referring to the old abrogated Code either.

Canon 1047 §2 n.3 of the 1983 Code allows the Apostolic See [viz., the Pope, or CDF on his behalf] to dispense individuals from the impediment. Each one is treated individually; there's no blanket dispensation for a class of person. This is what allows married clergy from other denominations to be reordained as priests in the Catholic Church. Since it is applied individually, to each applicable candidate on his own merits, it could be applied to "cradle Catholics", but I know of no cases.

CIC Reference — my print copy which I quote is a slightly different translation.


Short answer: absolutely no.

Long answer: no, at least non today and not in Latin Church. A man which is widowed could become a priest, but it's not married anymore.

The Holy See can dispense an individual from the celibacy rule; it usually happens for priestes from other churches which are married but wish to become catholic, but there is no rule - each case is threated individually.

Anyway, some non-Latin Catholich Churches allow priestes (like Antiochian Church) to marry.

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