Deafness And Priesthood

[Old_Joe]

One of my friends told me that a deaf man cannot be priest and that if a priest were to lose his hearing he could no longer be a priest. The reason he gave was they cannot hear confessions. Is this true? It seems to me that a deaf priest might still be able to administer the sacrament of confession via sign language.

[Theoketos]

I am not sure that there is any current prohibition against joining the priesthood if one is deaf. I seriously doubt there ever was, especially not because they could not hear confessions since not too long ago not every priest was allowed to hear confessions.

As far as growing old and not being able to hear, I know lots of old priest who cannot hear, but still celebrate mass.

[Pio Nono]

JMJ
2/7 - Bl. Pius IX

Old_Joe,

To my knowledge, [i]physical impotency[/i] is the only physical disability that bars a man from the priesthood. Besides, "hearing" someone's confession isn't limited to the audial realm - one could write his confession, or another could sign hers. That's legitimate.

I just remember the priest in M*A*S*H going deaf towards the end of the series. Though that's not exactly a magisterial source. Hope this helps.

Yours,
Pio Nono