A PARISH priest has made headline news after announcing that he was resigning because his partner was pregnant and he had decided to stand by her and their child, writes Christa Pongratz-Lippitt. Fr Pavol Kubicar, 34, had been parish priest of Notfels in Vorarlberg, western Austria, since 2004. In his farewell address he told his parishioners that he would have liked to remain a priest, but that " under the given circumstances" this was not possible. Priestly celibacy was a "long-standing, proven way of life" for Catholic priests, but not everyone was able to master it, he said. Bishop Elmar Fischer of Feldkirch said that he respected Fr Kubicar's decision but regretted that the parish was losing a "truly committed pastor".
The dean of Feldkirch, Fr Herbert Spieler, who will be taking over Fr Kubicar's parish,
told the Austrian quality daily Die Presse that mandatory celibacy was "altogether
questionable". Celibacy should be made voluntary, he said. "I know this is not possible at the moment, but that is not a good thing. Married men should be allowed to become priests and until that is so I am in favour of "interpreting celibacy mildly".
According to a theologian from Vorarlberg who worked for the bishop for many years, a third of all priests in Austria live with a female partner.
From this week's Tablet