"Why Did 50 Roman Catholic Priests Leave the Priesthood?" by Former Dominican Priest Richard Bennett

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• published: 25 Mar 2015
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See our playlist "Dealing with Roman Catholicism, Idolatry & the Virgin Mary" at http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFFA8D69D1B914715 with 125 videos & counting. Larry Wessels, director of Christian Answers of Austin, Texas/ Christian Debater (YouTube channel: CANSWERSTV at http://www.youtube.com/user/CAnswersTV; websites: http://www.BibleQuery.org, http://www.HistoryCart.com & http://www.MuslimHope.com) presents former Roman Catholic priest for 22 years Richard Bennett (website: http://www.BEREANBEACON.ORG; see his book "Far From Rome, Near to God") on the question - "Why Did 50 Roman Catholic Priests Leave the Priesthood?" There are serious reasons afoot when a person forsakes their "priesthood" as well as their religion. Find out what made the difference in these priests' lives. INTRODUCTION TO THE PRIESTHOOD BY A CONVERTED PRIEST RICHARD BENNETT A common thread that runs throughout the experiences of former priests is this: we had a great yearning to be different from those around us. We wanted to be more pure, nearer to God. We wanted to be free in conscience before God, and we sought the priesthood in which we thought we could administer salvation stage by stage to our fellow man. The nobility and charm of the priesthood also drew us, as priests around us were signally honored with special privileges and dignity. Hearing confessions, forgiving sins, bringing Christ down upon the altar, the wonder of being "another Christ", all of these attracted us. In the words of Graham Greene's novel on the subject, we were drawn by "the power and the glory". We did not question: 1. That there is an office of sacrificial priesthood in the New Testament. 2. That the priest's life revolves around the sacraments. 3. That we were fit subjects to be elevated to this honor. We had all worked hard at being "holy" so we took for granted that a right standing with God was something that we could merit. 1. The Office of the Priesthood In the early 1970s we who gloried in being priests were shocked to read the word of one of our best Roman Catholic Scripture scholars, Raymond E. Brown: When we move from the Old Testament to the New Testament, it is striking that while there are pagan priests and Jewish priests on the scene, no individual Christian is ever specifically identified as a priest. The Epistle to the Hebrews speaks of the high priesthood of Jesus by comparing his death and entry into heaven with the actions of the Jewish high priest who went into the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle once a year with a offering for himself and for the sins of his people (Hebrews 9:6-7). But it is noteworthy that the author of Hebrews does not associate the priesthood of Jesus with the Eucharist or the Last Supper; neither does he suggest that other Christians are priests in the likeness of Jesus. In fact, the once-for-all atmosphere that surrounds the priesthood of Jesus in Hebrews 10:12-14, has been offered as an explanation of why there are no Christian priests in the New Testament period.1 Later in the same chapter Brown argues for a priesthood like that of the Levitical class in the Old Testament. He makes his case for the development of such a doctrine by means of tradition. Even those of us who knew very little of the Bible knew that the Pharisees counted tradition superior to the clear Word of God. Brown did more to demolish the conviction that we were indeed priests than to ease our troubled minds. Now I see that what Brown stated in the section quoted is biblically and absolutely true. Other than the royal priesthood, which applies to all true believers in Christ, there is no office of priesthood in the New Testament. Rather, as Hebrews states so clearly of the Old Testament priests, "And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:23-25) "Unchangeable priesthood" means just that in the Greek: aparabatos means "untransferable". The reason it cannot be transferred to men is that its essence is Christ's own, ..who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens" (verse 26). 2. The Priest's Life Revolves around the Sacraments The second presupposition was that the Roman Catholic sacraments gave, as our catechism books said, "outward signs of inward grace". Our mindset, in the words of Canon 840, was that the sacraments "...contribute in the highest degree to the establishment, strengthening and manifestation of ecclesiastical communion".2 In fact, the sacraments themselves were for us the center of salvation and of sanctification. To see the rest of this article go to http://www.bereanbeacon.org/article/sorted/01_On_Catholicism/The_priesthood.pdf. Matthew 15:1-14