There has been some talk ay my chapel about the priest at the novus ordo church in my town.  Apparently, the priest in question wears a wedding band on his left ring ringer.  The people at my chapel have found out it is his late father's ring, which he wears for sentimental reasons.  It has caused quite a stir, as some people at my chapel believe that by wearing the ring in that fashion the man causes scandle, as people not familiar with him may think he is married.  I am very confused by the whole ordeal.  Help would be appreciated.

I agree with songbird, but the problem runs deeper.

One wonders why he pilfered his father's wedding ring.  I guess that since Bergoglio admitted to stealing a dead priest's belongings at his bedside, this priest thought it acceptable to take the wedding ring off his dead father's hand rather than have him buried with it and is proudly wearing it to show his congregation that it's OK to pilfer the belongings of the dead since they won't need the stuff anymore.

I am now more confused.  Is it objectionable for a son to inherit his father's wedding ring?  I didn't know that a person should always be buried with his wedding ring.

But "passing down" a wedding ring to a priest is rather a dead end, isn't it?

One might certainly hope so.

Quote from: Marlelar

Passing down a keepsake like a wedding ring is a wonderful tradition.  Tell the others to get a life.

He could wear it as a necklace and the ring could be tucked out of sight and not be a cause for scandal.

Such a thing would only be necessary if the mere act of wearing a ring was actually the sin of scandle.  According the Angelic Doctor, the sin of scandle occurs in two ways:

1) when a man intends, by evil words or deeds, to lead another into sin
2) when a man commits an act that, by its very nature, leads another into sin, even if the man did not so intend

I don't see how the mere act of wearing what amounts to a family heirloom falls into either of these categories.  There's no evidence that he's intending to lead anyone into sin by wearing the ring, and I do not believe that anyone can honestly say that the act of wearing a ring does, by its very nature, lead anyone into sin.

I don't see how the mere act of wearing what amounts to a family heirloom falls into either of these categories.  There's no evidence that he's intending to lead anyone into sin by wearing the ring, and I do not believe that anyone can honestly say that the act of wearing a ring does, by its very nature, lead anyone into sin.

The problem is he is wearing what appears to be a wedding ring on the ring finger of the left hand, which is the finger and hand a man in the United States would wear a wedding ring.  No person seeing him would naturally think, "Oh, how nice, he's wearing a family heirloom.  He must really have been a good son."  No.  A stranger on the street sees him in public and, given what Bergoglio has said about ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ priests (you must remember, it made the news, "Who am I to judge?") sees what appears to be a married Catholic priest--and, knowing Catholic priests can't marry women, assumes he must be an openly gαy Catholic priest.

Frankly, it seems that this situation fits precisely what scandal is in that the priest is doing something that will give people a sinful view of the Church.  He may, somehow, not be guilty of the sin of giving scandal if he is just simply too dense to realize the problem, but it seems strange that even a Novus Ordo priest could be that dense.  Likely, he knows exactly what it looks like to others and just doesn't care.

Quote from: Peter15and1

There has been some talk ay my chapel about the priest at the novus ordo church in my town.  Apparently, the priest in question wears a wedding band on his left ring ringer.  The people at my chapel have found out it is his late father's ring, which he wears for sentimental reasons.  It has caused quite a stir, as some people at my chapel believe that by wearing the ring in that fashion the man causes scandle, as people not familiar with him may think he is married.  I am very confused by the whole ordeal.  Help would be appreciated.

I think it is a very good idea for a priest to wear a wedding ring. When he is out and about and singel women who do not know him will hopefully not hit up on him because they will think he is married (in a way he is married to the Church) That wedding ring could be a symbol of his commitment to his promise of celibacy.
 :cool: :cool: :cool:

Nuns wear wedding rings because they are married to Our Lord and this is a holy practice.

A novus ordo presider wearing a wedding ring may, at the most harmless level, may just be bringing attention to himself (as if everyone staring at him while he does his presiding isn't enough attention  ) and at worst, he may be deliberately provocative.  Either way, it's bad.

In all likelihood, this novus ordo presider is trying to push the conversation in the direction of allowing priests to marry.  

There are hundreds of other locations he could have kept this cherished possession and the fact that he picked the one location that would cause scandal raises a lot of questions.  

I disagree. By earing that kind of ring he is signaling to those who in circuмstances where it would not be obvious (some of these priests don't dress like priests) that he has a commitment and is not available for romantic liasons.