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Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Saturday, July 26, 2008

Milwaukee archdiocese hires married priest

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Archdiocese of Milwaukee has hired a married Roman Catholic priest with children — a first in the archdiocese's history.

The priest, the Rev. Michael Scheip, and his wife have juvenile and adult sons and are moving from the Diocese of Venice, Fla. She has accepted a job here.

Although no married priest has served here, about 100 married priests have been ordained in the United States since the late Pope John Paul II created an exception in 1980 that allows married Lutheran and Anglican or Episcopal priests who have converted to Roman Catholicism to become priests, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan wrote in a letter to priests and deacons recently.

Scheip entered Catholicism in 1988 and was ordained in 1993 for the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., by now-retired Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington, D.C., Dolan's letter says. He is also a former Lutheran minister.

Dolan is working on a placement for him, archdiocesan spokeswoman Julie Wolf said Friday.

In his letter, which some priests received by e-mail and mail on Thursday and Friday, Dolan says Scheip asked to be considered for a pastoral assignment here.

His wife, Mary, has accepted a position at a Waukesha company, and his sons are enrolled in Catholic schools for the fall term, the letter says.

``I am writing to you to elicit your help in welcoming Father Scheip to the archdiocese. Would any of you be willing to accept his service to your parish as an associate pastor? How can I, as your archbishop, be of help to you and to your people in this regard?''

In his letter, Dolan says area Catholics will need catechesis, or religious education — especially in whatever parish Scheip is assigned. Dolan provides a series of questions and answers that the archdiocesan chancery office prepared.

The first question is: ``We were always taught that married men could not be ordained Catholic priests. How is it possible that we could have a married Catholic priest here in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee?''

The answer notes that celibacy has never been required of priests in the church's Eastern rite, though it is practiced universally in the West.

``Although it is highly valued, Pope Paul VI states that celibacy 'is not, of course, required by the nature of the priesthood itself. This is clear from the practice of the early church and the traditions of the Eastern rite churches,' `` the answer says. ``Much has been said about practical reasons for celibacy, such as giving the parish priest more time to dedicate to the children of God, etc. When all is said and done, however, we must understand it as a powerful sign of the presence of the kingdom of God. It is not essential to the priesthood, but it is a radical witness to the reign of Christ in the world.''