This site is dedicated to the tens of thousands of lives affected by the fatherhood of Catholic Priests. The life of the child and mother are profoundly changed by coming into this secret, often denied subculture of the Roman Catholic faith.
There are numerous accounts of priests leaving the priesthood after fathering a child. Many of these men married their wives and have completed the familial bond. Countless others remained in the preisthood. Some denying their parental responsibilities, and others living a life of duality... serving the church and attempting a familial life in secrecy.
Being the adult child of a practicing Catholic Priest, I began this website to begin a dialogue about our experience, our mothers' experience, and if possible the thoughts of Catholic Priests, both practicing and non practicing on fatherhood.
Please bear with us as we develop this site. We are stumbling through life as many are during these difficult times. Please use the link at the left to Register and become a member of our community. You can be assured that all personal information will remain anonymous. This allows us the freedom to speak on topics without the fear, shame, embarrassment, and ridicule of our family, our peers, and the public at large. If you have any thoughts or suggestions on improving the site please contact us and we'll listen.
The November 22, 2006 edition of the Boston Globe featured a story " Mother and Father on children of a Catholic priest. The author kindly makes reference to our site in the story. I hope you all take the time to read the article. You can find it here or at the Globe's website.
This website is dedicated to the tens of thousands of lives affected by the fatherhood of Catholic Priests. The life of the child and mother are profoundly changed by coming into this secret, often denied subculture of the Roman Catholic faith. There are numerous accounts of priests leaving the priesthood after fathering a child. Many of these men married their wives and have completed the familial bond. Countless others remained in the priesthood. Some denying their parental responsibilities, and others living a life of duality... serving the church and attempting a familial life in secrecy.
The purpose of this message is to solicit articles and helpful advice for inclusion on the web site. What kinds of articles are needed? Everything! These don't have to be in-depth articles, but anything that shares your experience or relates your thoughts and insights on this subject and its related issues would helpful.
Examples:
Your experience with bringing this issue public.
Your thoughts and feelings about necessary church reform.
Scope of the problem.
Your life in secrecy
Etc… Can you think of any other ideas? Go for it! It doesn't matter what your level of expertise is, or from what position or frame of reference you’re coming from (mother, child, priest or clergy member, legal expert, etc) -- believe me, I'm sure there's knowledge and insight you have that you can write up and share which would benefit others. If you feel the same way, drop by www.childrenofpriests.org to learn more or send an article for submission to Please tell us if you would like to remain anonymous and we will post your submission accordingly.