Being laicized refers to returning to the lay status or being freed from ecclesiastical responsibilities. Lets take driving as an example. And lets also pray that all Catholic priests be given the graces and strength they need to persevere in their often difficult ministry, which is so critical to the continued life of the Church. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. Instead, he would make a good confession and receive absolution, and then make a Profession of Faith. What a whitewash. Finally, it is possible for a laicized priest to be restored to holy orders, but only by express rescript from the pope (see Canon 293). If, for example, a priest who had lost the clerical state were driving home and encountered a car accident, and found there a Catholic victim who at least appeared to be near death, that laicized priest would actually be required under canon law to hear his confession and grant him absolution. Somewhere, I think St. Paul suggests that it better to marry than burn, too. Canon law refers to this change as the loss of the clerical state (cf. The person to whom it is granted is not permitted to separate the two, accepting the dispensation while rejecting the laicization, or accepting the laicization while rejecting the dispensation. But in theory, if a laicized priest were to say Mass, it would be a valid Mass, since he never loses the ability to celebrate the Eucharist. No, not all parishes can afford it, but as someone said above, I think more Catholics than you think would be delighed at the prospect of digging a little deeper to help support a priest and his family. Sometimes you hear about somebody being a former priest, and I dont see how thats possible. So if David has in fact met one or more married men who have said that they were former priests, what conclusions can be drawn from this? The fact of the matter is that there are those here who have been applying the Protestant model where in certain Protestant circles, the church that a minister pastors actually support that pastor and his family, as correctly mentioned by J.R. (which I myself am acquainted with as well due to my friends who are, in fact, members of such Protestant churches). St. Paul gave us the same example and recommendation. In large parishes, the head lay ministers are often paid 40,000+ DREs, and such. Why not? This was the third such meeting he had called. You hit on it exactly! JEANETTE: Do Catholic Priests have the power to forgive sins. The answer is both 'yes' and 'no'.