Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Why Celibacy? [Catholic Caucus]
Daily Catholic ^ | October 2002 | Mario Derksen

Posted on 02/21/2007 7:15:21 AM PST by Titanites

A Brief Scriptural and Ecclesial Justification Why Catholic Priests Should Not Marry; Rather They Must Remain Celibate

   Many people, even many Catholics, wonder why the Catholic Church does not allow priests and religious to marry but requires them to be celibate. Our world at the threshold of the third millennium, is very secular and indulges daily in the gratification of the senses. Pleasure is what describes our sinful Western world, pleasure and instant gratification. It is very difficult, therefore, for a worldly person -- even if they mean well and are sincere -- to see the great gift and virtue of being celibate for life.

   The reasons for priestly and religious celibacy are numerous. They range from theological to spiritual, from psychological to practical, from philosophical to biblical. Before I start going into some of the reasons, let me first mention a short but important book on the matter: The Case for Clerical Celibacy by Cardinal Alfons Stickler. You may consider getting this book from Ignatius Press if you are interested in this topic, for an essay like this one can never give you the full picture but only snapshots.

   Before I get into the biblical arguments, let me quickly mention a fairly philosophical reason for priestly celibacy: it helps filter out unworthy vocations. A priest ought to be a most holy, most virtuous man wholly dedicated to God and ready to sacrifice his life for God and in order to feed the flock. If someone who wishes to become a priest cannot even make the sacrifice of celibacy, giving up wife and children, how will he hold up when it comes to other sacrifices? Can he give his life for his flock? If the priest is not willing to give up wife and children, just how serious is he about his vocation? How will he be the best possible servant he can be if he is not willing to dedicate his life wholly to God? If God calls you, God will give you the graces necessary to be a good and holy priest. Hence, if you feel you have a vocation but also feel that you could not be celibate for the rest of your life, this is an indication that you do not have a calling to the priesthood or religious life after all. As a former seminarian, I know what I am talking about. If the Church rescinded on her discipline of requiring priests and religious to be celibate, she would be opening the doors to many unworthy vocations, filling the seminaries, monasteries, and convents with people who are not willing to make this great sacrifice of celibacy in order to serve the Lord totally dedicated to Him. A vocation to the religious life -- whether it be that of a priest, monk, or nun -- must be willing to give everything to God, including one's life, to be shared with no one and nothing other than Him.

   Now, given the many sex scandals that have been exposed by the press in recent times, you may wonder how I can say that priestly celibacy furthers holy vocations. Of course when I say that, I am talking about heterosexuals (males for the priesthood or brotherhood, and females for sisterhood). When you look at the many scandals that we have heard about in the news lately, you will see that almost every single one of them involves priests and other men. That is, we are talking about homosexual priests. Homosexual men should not be admitted into the seminary, into the priesthood, or into a monastery to be monks. The Church affirms this in its 1961 document on the matter. Unfortunately, however, many homosexuals have been able to infiltrate the seminaries and the priesthood and are now priests, educators, and administrators of whatever sort. It is because of this infiltration that we now see so many scandals. It has nothing to do with priestly celibacy but with homosexuality.

   A more practical reason for priestly celibacy is simply that you do not have time for wife and children as a priest. You simply don't. Even in the seminary already it would be impossible to have a wife and children to take care of--you would get nowhere. Besides, having wife and children to care for is a huge responsibility, and of course the husband in the family must be very diligent and properly care for his family. A priest could not do this because he would be torn between his responsibilities as a spiritual father and his responsibilities to his wife and children.

Biblical Reasons Why Celibacy Must Be Upheld

   Now we come to the biblical reasons for celibacy. I will be citing passages of Sacred Scripture from the Douay-Rheims Bible, the true Catholic bible. What follows are selections of passages that demonstrate the celibacy as a state for life is approved by the Bible, recommended especially in order to be free for prayer and focus on God, and will be rewarded greatly in the afterlife:

  

I think these passages of the Holy Scriptures make it fairly clear that one is better-off if one does not marry. If, however, one would otherwise be too tempted to commit sin, it is better to marry. Being celibate lets one focus totally on God and is therefore superior to the married state--according to the Scriptures. Now, none of this diminishes the state of Holy Matrimony, which, indeed, God through His Church has raised to the dignity of a sacrament in the New Covenant (see Pauline Zingleman's magnificent exposition of Holy Matrimony at my site). Everyone who does not have an impediment to marriage (e.g. impotence) is free to marry in the Catholic Church, with God's full blessing. It is true that priests may not marry, but then again, nobody is obliged to become a priest. The Church requires her priests and religious to be celibate, but, as we have seen, she only does so because she only wants the most faithful sons and daughters for the religious life, sons and daughters who have a high-quality vocation, as exemplified through the great sacrifice of celibacy which they are voluntarily offering to the Lord, and for which they will one day be most generously rewarded.



TOPICS: Apologetics; Catholic; History; Religion & Culture
KEYWORDS: celibacy; priesthood; scripture
This is a Catholic Caucus thread.
1 posted on 02/21/2007 7:15:24 AM PST by Titanites
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Titanites

Celibacy is a discipline and not a doctrine of the Church.


2 posted on 02/21/2007 8:42:11 AM PST by Titanites
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Titanites

I actually have that book by Strickler, pretty good.

I think most Catholics also overlook the fact that in many ways Celibacy is a cornerstone of Christian marriage (insert joke here).

In that if one cannot make similar sacrifices to those made when one lives celibately they will take their spouse for granted and will never establish the true intimacy necessary to a happy a faith filled relationship.


3 posted on 02/21/2007 8:47:30 AM PST by Cheverus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Cheverus

Oops forgot to mention that married Clergy of the Eastern Rites appreciate and value Celibacy within the context I described.


4 posted on 02/21/2007 8:49:04 AM PST by Cheverus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Cheverus
I actually have that book by Strickler, pretty good.

Thanks for the recommendation. That's one I'll add to the list.

5 posted on 02/21/2007 8:53:01 AM PST by Titanites
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Titanites
Celibacy Is a Gift

By Greg Mockeridge

When adherence to God’s natural reproductive design and the moral law of human sexuality as taught by the Catholic Church is ridiculed as prudish or extreme, it should be no shock to anyone that her teaching regarding celibacy is seen as a sort of a neutered aberration. To understand celibacy we must first understand the most basic fact of our sexuality—that is, we are created male and female. Thus our sexuality is primarily a matter of being, not behavior. Celibacy bears witness to this truth in a preeminent way.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, "Christian virgins, called by the Lord to cling only to him with greater freedom of heart, body, and spirit, have decided with the Church’s approval to live in a state of virginity" (922; emphasis added). As this statement points out, celibacy also bears strong witness to true sexual liberation. For liberation consists of man being able to master his passions rather than giving in to his whims.

Eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism also believe this. Although these religions have erroneous ideas in regard to celibacy, they do see its value and radiate much of its goodness in their monasticism.

Celibacy and marriage are not two competing vocations but are dependent upon and elevate one another. It is not by coincidence that times of crisis for marriage (such as our present time in which the divorce rates are astronomical) are also times of crisis for consecrated celibacy.

Although celibacy is objectively superior to marriage, it does not diminish the goods of marriage. In fact, celibacy elevates the good of marriage. It is a superiority that totally gives itself for the good of marriage. It also makes itself dependent on the good of marriage for its life. This interdependence of marriage and celibacy is not only spiritual but physical as well. After all, in order for a person to be able to embrace celibate love he has to be created, and the way God creates man is through the marital embrace. In this light, it is not by mistake that the family is seen as the source of priestly and religious vocations.

It is also not by mistake that the greatest defenders of the covenant of marriage are celibates, and likewise the greatest defenders of celibacy are married people. This is not the result of a "grass is greener on the other side " mentality—that is too shallow a view. It is because the goodness of the one elevates the goodness of the other.

Even though celibacy is the objectively superior state, this does not mean that it is for everyone. Our Lord makes this very clear when he says, "Not all men can accept this precept, but only those to whom it is given. . . . There are those who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this let him receive it" (Matt. 19:11–12).

In addition, celibacy is not the superior state for all people. Aquinas states, " Though virginity is better than conjugal continence, a married person may be better than a virgin for two reasons. First, on the part of chastity itself; if to wit, the married person is more prepared in mind to observe virginity, if it should be expedient, than the one who is actually a virgin. Secondly, because perhaps the person who is not a virgin has some more excellent virtue" (Summa Theologiae I:152:4).

Augustine admonishes virgins to say, "I am no better than Abraham, although the chastity of celibacy is better than the chastity of marriage" (On the Good of Matrimony 7). Augustine also states, "Whence does a virgin know the things that belong to the Lord, however solicitous she be about them, if perchance on account of some mental fault she be not yet ripe for martyrdom, whereas this woman to whom she delighted in preferring herself is already able to drink the cup of the Lord?"

These statements underscore the fact that celibacy is a gift. This is not something one can take upon one’s self for reasons of pride or human respect. The very essence of a gift is its reciprocity, meaning the giving and receiving are simultaneous. It is only when we become willing to give ourselves completely are we able truly to receive. This is especially crucial in a proper understanding of sexual love, whether it be celibate or marital. It is also crucial that this be understood on an individual level, particularly when making discernment in regards to celibacy and marriage.

Someone may choose either marriage or celibacy for the wrong reasons. These can range from a low sense of self-worth (particularly in relation to the opposite sex), bad experiences in dating, or just giving up on the hope of finding a marriage partner. Some men make the mistake of choosing celibacy as the "cover charge" for becoming priests instead of as a good in and of itself that should be desired.

This sort of reductionist view obscures the meaning of celibacy and has a devastating effect on these men and those around them. It also betrays a serious misunderstanding of celibacy and the priesthood. The canonical requirement of celibacy for priests in the Western Church is not forced upon anyone. In a proper sense, priests are men who freely choose celibacy "for the sake of the kingdom of heaven." After all, it is the vow or promise of celibacy that comes first, not ordination.

The Eastern churches have a different canonical custom that allows married men to be ordained to the priesthood, but once they are ordained they may not marry, even in the event of the death of the spouse. Still, many candidates for the priesthood in the East freely choose celibacy. All bishops in the East are consecrated from the ranks of the monks, who are all celibate. The harmoniously different canonical customs of both East and West not only show a deep interconnection between celibacy and the priesthood, they also bear witness to the great freedom of celibacy.

In light of this, doing away with the canonical discipline of priestly celibacy in the West would not solve the problem of the shortage of priests. In the Eastern church, where married men are accepted as priests, there are shortages. Furthermore, doing away with the canonical discipline of priestly celibacy would involve the additional problem of divorced priests. Unfortunately, this is something not unknown in Protestant churches with their married ministers.

The priest shortage is a problem of faith, not a result of the discipline of celibacy. These faith problems manifest themselves in the serious misunderstanding of the truth and meaning of human sexuality and, consequently, a serious drop in the world’s birthrates because of contraception, sterilization, and abortion. When human sexuality is not properly understood in its totality of the gift of oneself, celibacy is also misunderstood. In light of today’s severe crisis in the area of sexuality, we need the witness of celibacy all the more.

The difficulties of the celibate life should not be minimized. Needless to say, chaste sexuality even in marriage is difficult because of man’s potent appetite tainted with original sin. Chaste sexuality in the context of celibacy is even more difficult. This makes itself felt with a tremendous force in times in which we presently live, when the dignity of human sexuality is so badly obscured.

Celibate love that is freely and joyfully embraced amidst these difficulties bears an even greater witness to it as a "pearl of great price," not the price one pays.

6 posted on 02/21/2007 9:08:42 AM PST by Titanites
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson