The married Messiah?

Jesuit weighs in on a recent finding that claims Jesus had a wife

The papyrus fragment that includes words referring to the supposed wife of Jesus.
The finding was presented by Karen L. King at a recent conference in Rome.

Father James Martin, SJ, a contributing editor to the Catholic magazine America, wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times about a recent discovery of a fourth-century papyrus that asserts there was a Mrs. Jesus Christ:

At an academic conference in Rome on Sept. 18, Karen L. King, a church historian at Harvard Divinity School, presented a finding that, according to some reports, threatened to overturn what we know about Jesus, as well as the tradition of priestly celibacy. She identified a small fragment of fourth-century papyrus that includes the words, “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife....’ ” Another clause appears to say, “she will be able to be my disciple.” Some experts have concluded that the manuscript, written in Coptic, is authentic. 

But does this mean that Jesus was married? Probably not. And will this fascinating new discovery make this Jesuit priest want to rush out and get married? No.

Read the full article here.