Phil Marcin is shown baptizing his grandson Declan, held by his mom, Maggie and alongside his dad, Phillip, in 2021. (Courtesy of Phil and Linda Marcin)
BY HEIDI SCHLUMPF
Phil and Linda Marcin met five decades ago, but he still gets a twinkle in his eye when he describes the first time he saw the "beautiful blonde" who would eventually become his wife. The only problem: He was a Catholic priest at the time.
After years of friendship and discernment on both of their parts, Phil eventually left ordained ministry, as did tens of thousands of priests worldwide in the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council, many to get married. The Marcins found support, community and an opportunity for a new ministry through CORPUS, originally founded as the "Corps of Reserved Priests United for Service."
Now, after 50 years, one of the oldest reform groups in the U.S. church is disbanding, citing the advanced age of its membership and lack of new members. CORPUS, which bills itself as the "national association for an inclusive priesthood," officially closed at the end of December 2024.
"It's heartbreaking," Phil Marcin, now 87, told the National Catholic Reporter, recalling "the friendships we made, the hope we had and the seeds we planted, even though they're not blossoming the way we hoped they would. I believe CORPUS was a great success, but in the Lord's way, not in the way we envisioned it."
After about a millennium of mandatory celibacy in the Latin rite, the church now allows some married clergy who have converted to Catholicism. The issue again received worldwide scrutiny in 2019, when a synod of bishops recommended that Pope Francis allow the ordination of married men as priests in the Amazon. He declined to answer their request.
More: https://www.ncronline.org/news/corpus-group-married-priests-disbands-after-50-years
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