"Father Father," he said. "Father Son," replied he.

From The Telegraph, this news:

But a special dispensation from the Vatican allowing former Anglican clergy to continue to minister after defecting to Catholicism has allowed hundreds of married priests to serve within the church for the first time since the 12th Century.

Although 36-year-old Fr Cosslett junior - himself a former Anglican - is celibate, his father, who is Priest-in-Charge at St Joseph's, Darlaston in the West Midlands, remains married to his wife Kath.

It is believed to be the first time that a father and son have both served as priests since the First Lateran Council in 1123 which formalised the requirement for priests to be celibate.

At risk of being repetitive, I repeat: priests in the Eastern Catholic rites can be married (prior to ordination, of course). Which makes me think that there are surely many instances in the Eastern rites of fathers and sons (and even grandsons) being priests.

Comments

[NYer]

This is a wonderful and heartwarming story of conversion, fatherly love and fillial fidelity on so many levels.

In wondering about Eastern Catholic priests, my bi-ritual (Maronite + Latin) pastor's grandfather was a married priest. My pastor, on the other hand, chose celibacy. In the Maronite Catholic Church, only celibate priests are assigned to the diaspora.

In 2005, the Patriarch for the Maronites - Cardinal Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir, attended a Vatican Synod on the priesthood. The Cardinal defended the practice of the celibate priesthood and discussed the beauty of the tradition, calling it the "most precious jewel in the treasury of the Catholic Church."

The Patriarch pointed out that while married priest resolve the shortage problem, it creates other problems. By virtue of his first vow, the married priest must ensure the well being of his wife and children. If the priest does not enjoy a good relationship with his congregation, the bishop is faced with the difficulty of transferring him and his family, which can be quite costly.