Young Benedict questioned priestly celibacy

CathBlog ^ | January 31, 2011 | MICHAEL MULLINS

[Alex Murphy]

The London Catholic Herald blogger Anna Arco blogs the news that Pope Benedict XVI “called for the Church to investigate priestly celibacy”, in 1970 when he was a young priest.

She notes a German newspaper report that he signed a petition that suggested the Church re-examine the obligation of priestly celibacy.

The memorandum was drawn up in the face of a shortage of priests and other signatories included Karl Rahner and the future cardinals Karl Lehmann and Walter Kasper.

If there weren’t enough priests, the document said, then the “Church quite simply has a responsibility to take up certain modifications”.

The blog points out that the document’s release coincides with a renewed debate on priestly celibacy after prominent German politicians called for the Church to change the teaching on priestly celibacy in the face of a serious lack of priests.

[Alex Murphy]

The London Catholic Herald blogger Anna Arco blogs the news that Pope Benedict XVI “called for the Church to investigate priestly celibacy”, in 1970 when he was a young priest....If there weren’t enough priests, the document said, then the “Church quite simply has a responsibility to take up certain modifications”.

[Mr. K]

i NEVER UNDERSTOOD WHY PRIESTS HAD TO BE CELIBATE

[Cicero]

Yes, the young Fr. Ratzinger was involved with many of the people who brought us Vatican II. But unlike Karl Rahner, who at best walked along the brink of the cliff of orthodoxy, if he didn’t fall off, Ratzinger asked questions but then came down on the right side.

I’ve read quite a bit of his earlier theological writings, and they are excellent. And orthodox.

[Scotswife]

That Ratzinger was more liberal in his youth is not news.

[Brilliant]

Tradition.

[RobbyS]

Tradition. From the earliest times, Christianity was always more ascetic than the strain of Judaism that evolved into orthodox Judaism after the Destruction of the Temple. Virginity was prized above marriage. Unlike Judaism, which stopped proselytizing by the 2nd Century, Christianity increased its numbers mainly by conversion. And until the 3rd century, Christianity were still much excited by the expected Return of the Lord. The that was relayed, many Christians turned away from ordinary pursuits and in the late 3rd Century, the monastic movement began. The idea of living the same kind of life that Our Lord did during his ministry, and which was copied by the Apostles, had always been attractive. Now it became the beau ideal of the Christian life, the way to sanctity For more than 1000 years it remained that way, until the Reformation which had a very different view, one reflecting a rejection of monasticism. The monk was no longer the ideal Christian, but rather the scholar of the Bible, and the layman. The Protestant minister is not a priest but simply a layman appointed by a congregation to perform a certain function, something like a eucharistic minister/lector/cantor/business manager in a Catholic Church.

[PanzerKardinal]

Why?

Because when the telephone rings at 3am asking for the priest to come over and give last rites, he doesn’t have to worry about waking his family up or if he’ll be back to drive his children to school.

Because he doesn’t have to think about his family when he is asked to go to another parish.

Because he doesn’t have to come home at 6pm to have dinner and then help his children with homework.

Because it’s not a job, it’s a vocation.

Because his sacrifice is an outward sign of his devotion to God and to God’s people.

Because he not a father to just his family, he’s the father to us all.

[GCC Catholic]

The young Joseph Ratzinger held opinions that were much more liberal than those of the older-and-wiser Pope Benedict. This drastic shift midway through his life is no secret - it has come up in a number of interviews.

This is a non-story acting as a stealth attack on priestly celibacy.

[BunnySlippers]

I totally agree.

But it ensures that the priesthood is a haven for gays. It almost always has been.

[GCC Catholic]

But it ensures that the priesthood is a haven for gays. It almost always has been.

That's no reason to avoid a celibate priesthood.

Rather, it is a reason to reject men who lack the qualities necessary to become a good fathers. The qualities required for natural fatherhood and supernatural fatherhood are the same. Gays lack those qualities... and some heterosexual men do too... and that renders them unfit for priesthood.

[BunnySlippers]

I totally agree. I back a celibate clergy.

How do you get rid of the gays? And, the priesthood has dwindled to a trickle. It will get much, much smaller.

[jroneil]

add another reason the a Would a Parish want to support a priest wife and children?

It should remember that celibacy is a discipline and could be changed or suspended If the Church felt it was necessary.

No Woman priest that is Dogma and can not be change

[TheDingoAteMyBaby]

My question has two parts:

The first is what sort of methods the church uses to screen out unfit men.

The second is why not have the option of allowing married men to the priesthood as long as they have no minor children.

[fabian]

Because the church has lost a lot of its way and they are mechanically applying what Jesus was. Many of the apostles had families , I am sure. What that rule has done is devastate the church by attracting many homosexuals to the priesthood.

[Straight Vermonter]

the young Fr. Ratzinger was involved with many of the people who brought us Vatican II.

In the excellent book about V-II "The Desolate City" by Anne Roche Muggeridge, Ratzinger is mentioned as one of the advisers for the German reformers at the council. By the end, however, the author notes that he realized that a huge mistake has been made. I don't know what exactly changed his mind but I would love to ask him.

Considering his early association with Hans Küng and Edward Schillebeeckx it is hard to believe he has become the man he is today.

[momtothree]

There use to be a tradition in large Catholic families that one son went off to the priesthood or a daughter to the nunnery. I had a great uncle who was the youngest son. After everyone else married, he was told to join the priesthood. He didn’t really want to but did so to please his parents. Well, about six months later, his girlfriend showed up at the monastery. Let’s just say she was definitely in a “motherhood way”. After some lively discussion, the monsignor and my great uncle figured out that priesthood wasn’t for him. My great uncle married within the week. I wish I had been able to be a fly on the wall during the lively discussion. Just a thought.

[Joyell]

I don’t see anything in scripture that says a priest/rabbi/leader of the church should be celibate. Paul talks about his celibate life, how he doesn’t have a family to worry about, but he goes on to say that people should marry if they couldn’t remain celibate.

“Be fruitful and multiply the earth.”
“It is not good that man should be alone.”
St. Paul’s advice to Timothy calling the forbidding of marriage a “doctrine of devils”.

All of the patriarchs were married.

To say that a priest can better serve the Lord if he’s unmarried doesn’t make sense. If priests were married, the majority of their children would grow up with a strong faith in God. It really hurts the Lord’s work when committed Christians don’t have children.

Marriage hasn’t stopped Billy Graham, Bill Bright, and countless others from serving the Lord.

[Salvation]

This might help your education in that matter:

Has the Time Come to Consider Making Celibacy Truly Optional In the Western Church?
Catholic Scandals: A Crisis for Celibacy?
Celibacy of the priesthood is a church strength, not a liability
Celibacy s history of power and money

Pope: Priests Must Stay Celibate
Giving Thanks for the Good Shepherds ( A Defense of Priestly Celibacy)
Don't end celibacy for priests
The celibate superhero
Priestly Celibacy And Its Roots In Christ

How to Refute Arguments Against Priestly Celibacy
Priestly Celibacy Reflects Who - and Whose - We Are[Father George W.Rutler]
Celibacy
Tracing the Glorious Origins of Celibacy
God’s call to celibacy for the sake of His Kingdom - by Card. George

Vatican Says Celibacy Rule Nonnegotiable
Bishop Attacks Move to End Celibacy
A response to Fr. Joseph Wilson's defense of mandatory celibacy
The gift of Priestly celibacy as a sign of the charity of Christ, by Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Archbishop Dolan:"We Need to Be Renewing Our Pledge to Celibacy, Not Questioning It"

Celibacy is gift cherished by church
Celibacy Will Save the Priesthood
Celibacy Defended by EWTN's Fr. Levis
Call To Action: Dump Celibacy
The (Catholic) Church Has Always Prospered When Celibacy Is Honored

John Paul II Hails "Inestimable Value" of Priestly Celibacy
For Priests, Celibacy Is Not the Problem
Fr. Shannon Collins Discusses Celibacy
5 Arguments Against (Catholic) Priestly Celibacy and How to Refute Them
Why A Married Priesthood Won't Remedy the Priest Shortage

New Vatican Document on Homosexuality and the Priesthood Coming Before Fall 2005
Catholic priests demand the right to marry
Catholic priests urge Church to reconsider celibacy rules
Alternative Priests´ Council Hits Back on Mandatory Celibacy
Married Priests? The English Experience

Saying Yes to God: a Look into Vocations
New Vatican Document to Eliminate 1961 Papal Ban on Ordaining Homosexuals
Saying Yes to God: a Look into Vocations
Is it time to ordain married men to the Catholic priesthood?
40% of Scots priests want end to celibacy

A small, sturdy band of 'John Paul priests'(JPII legacy of conservative priests)
Yes, Gay Men Should Be Ordained
Cardinal says Priests will marry
Fathers, Husbands and Rebels: Married Priests
An Unneeded Headache (Vatican document on [NOT] admitting homosexual to the priesthood)
More (Priestly) Celibacy, Not Less

Vatican Prepares Draft Directives Against Admitting Gays as Priests
From Anglican to married Catholic priest
Spain gets first married priest
Spain (R) Catholic Church ordains first married priest
The Catholic Church - East-West Difference Over Priestly Celibacy

ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF SCRANTON TO RECEIVE FIRST ECUSA PRIEST
Defending Chastity in the Priesthood
Ordination of married men is raised at Vatican synod
Patriarch of Venice deemphasizes ordination of married men to the priesthood
Cardinal Pell: Ending Celibacy Rule Would Be a Blunder

Priest shortage stems from crisis of faith, ignorance of the infinite, not celibacy, say Bishops [at Synod]
Vatican synod rules out married priests (for Latin Church)
Synod Affirms Priestly Celibacy
Married Priests Aren’t the Answer (a seminarian states his view)
5 Arguments Against Priestly Celibacy and How to Refute Them

(Catholic) Church makes a clear distinction between chastity and celibacy, says Priest
Why Not Married Priests? The Case for Clerical Celibacy
The biblical foundation of priestly celibacy
Married, ex-Episcopalian ordained a Catholic priest in California
Getting It Right:The Foundation of Friendship (What can a celibate priest really teach us about love

Another One Takes the Plunge [swims the Tiber]
Following the Signs (to a priestly vocation)
That sneaky desperate Catholic Church is at it again
Long Journey to Rome (Former Southern Baptist Pastor Now a Traveling Crusader for Catholic Church)
New, stricter Priestly Formation Program issued for U.S. Catholic seminaries

Ex-Lutheran bishop found Catholic rock: Joseph Jacobson to be ordained Catholic priest by Christmas
Jesuit defends priestly celibacy (a lengthy but worthy read)
The Gift: A Married Priest Looks at Celiba[cy]
Vatican Reaffirms Celibacy for Priests
Pope, Curia Aides Reaffirm Value of Priestly Celibacy (detailed Vatican response)

Vatican Said (Again!) Not Revising Celibacy Rule
On Priests, Marriage and the Sacraments
Should Catholic priests have the right to marry?
Married Priests Back Celibacy (Part 1 of 2)
Messori: Married priests no remedy for “vocations crisis”

Why Celibacy? [Catholic Caucus]
Married man considers turn as Catholic priest
The Nature of Priestly Ordination: Theological Background and Some Present Concerns
Ukrainian cardinal says married men not answer to vocations crisis
Angelo Roncalli (Pope John XXIII) and Priestly Celibacy

Married man considers turn as Catholic priest
Roman Catholic Priests the Case For:
Priestly Celibacy: Yes, it is Apostolic [Ecumenical]
Why Can't (Roman) Catholic Priests Get Married?
Married [converts] priests inspire flock

Bad Examples Do Not Invalidate The Value of Priestly Celibacy, Says Bishop
TENDENCY FOR PRIESTS IS TOWARD CELIBACY, SAYS EGYPTIAN BISHOP
The Jewel of Celibacy
Celibacy and the Priesthood

[Joyell]

Post something from scripture that supports the Catholic view of Priests having to remain celibate.

[verdugo]

Tradition. From the earliest times, Christianity was always more ascetic than the strain of Judaism that evolved into orthodox Judaism after the Destruction of the Temple. Virginity was prized above marriage. Unlike Judaism, which stopped proselytizing by the 2nd Century, Christianity increased its numbers mainly by conversion. And until the 3rd century, Christianity were still much excited by the expected Return of the Lord. The that was relayed, many Christians turned away from ordinary pursuits and in the late 3rd Century, the monastic movement began. The idea of living the same kind of life that Our Lord did during his ministry, and which was copied by the Apostles, had always been attractive. Now it became the beau ideal of the Christian life, the way to sanctity For more than 1000 years it remained that way, until the Reformation which had a very different view, one reflecting a rejection of monasticism. The monk was no longer the ideal Christian, but rather the scholar of the Bible, and the layman. The Protestant minister is not a priest but simply a layman appointed by a congregation to perform a certain function, something like a eucharistic minister/lector/cantor/business manager in a Catholic Church.

Only comment worth it's salt on this thread, and I notice no one responds. So I will, Thanks!

Priestly celibacy, a Catholic discipline criticized by CINO's and the world. Frankly, I could care less what the millions of religions outside the Church do. I don't understand why they feel a need to stick their noses into the Catholicism's business. The Church has never been in the popularity business.