Doyle, whose father was a priest, is a member of Coping International, an organisation that campaigns for the rights of priests' children.

Although the guidelines are not new, they have been secret until now.

Last year the secrecy around them changed when the Congregation for the Clergy said it was happy to send them to any Bishop's conference that requested them.

This development followed a meeting between Mgr Andrea Ripa, Undersecretary for the Congregation, and Doyle.

Coping International and the Congregation for the Clergy then cooperated over their release.

Doyle says he is "delighted" with the release.

He says it represents represent an important step towards transparency on the part of the Vatican and adds weight to the prioritisation of the natural rights of the child to know his or her parents.

Previously, Cardinal Cláudio Hummes, who was prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy between 2006 and 2010, emphasised the obligation to equal treatment on the part of the children of the ordained had to outweigh any other interests.

Hummes said this was also the opinion of Pope Benedict XVI during his time in office.

Ripa indicated during discussions with Doyle that it would be possible for a priest to remain in ministry, having fathered a child.

He said whether this would occur would be subject to two other considerations.

One is the priest's suitability for ministry and the other concentrates on the good of the child. This represents a significant change in the attitude of the Vatican regarding such situations.

Given Ripa's comments that it would not be "impossible" for priests to continue in their ministry after fathering a child, Doyle pointed to the recent suggestion of the ordination of "viri probati" as priests could provide a "remedy" for "procreative breaches in celibacy".

If this were the case, it would remove the clash of vocations that has previously led to children being raised without knowledge of their father, or in secret.

Source

• The Tablet UK
• Image: The Irish Times

No-one knows how many children have priests or religious as parents. Some suggest there could be thousands.

The "Principles of Responsibility Regarding Priests who Father Children While in Ministry" was written in consultation with Vincent Doyle, an Irish psychotherapist whose father was a diocesan priest.

Doyle helped found Coping International, a voluntary mental health organisation that promotes the well-being of children of Catholic Priests and Religious as well as their parents.

According to The Irish Times, the guidelines Doyle helped develop attempt "to articulate a position based on natural justice and subsequent rights regarding the children of priests." They include five general principles.

• The parents have a fundamental right to make their own decisions regarding the care of their new-born child.
• The needs of the child should be given the first consideration. In the case of a child fathered by a Catholic priest, it follows that a priest, as any new father, should face up to his responsibilities - legal, moral and financial. At a minimum, no priest should walk away from his responsibilities.
• Each situation requires careful consideration, but certain principles present themselves on which the decision of the priest should be made: The best interests of the child; dialogue with, and respect for, the mother of the child; dialogue with Church superiors.
• The importance that the mother, as the primary care-giver, and as a moral agent in her own right, be fully involved in the decision.
• In arriving at a determination regarding these cases, it is important that a mother and child should not be left isolated or excluded.

Coping International representatives have met with various church organisations, including Vatican officials, to publicise the issue.

Source

• The Boston Pilot
• Crux
• NCR
• Image: Google Plus