Well, ready or not, it's finally here. Months of allegations, abuse, finger-pointing, and mudslinging have come down to this one event: the meeting of the American bishops in Dallas this weekend. The decisions that they reach will, for better or for worse, change the face of the American Church, but in the meantime we must get ready to be part of the recovery process.
After it's all over, the Church will need our support more than ever. We may not be able to help the bishops in Dallas this weekend, but we can stand with them in defending our Church against dissenters and naysayers who will continue to use this opportunity to attack the Church's discipline of celibacy in the priesthood.
To that end, CRISIS has put together a list of arguments for priestly celibacy and responses to commonly heard criticisms. We hope it helps you better prepare for the future and the role all of us must play in restoring the moral authority of our Church.
Best,
Deal Hudson
And, finally IMHO, it will put some pressure on the homosexuals now hiding behind their priestly robes to get out of the closet and hopefully the clergy!
It doesn't exist.
What does exist, is a priesthood made up in large part of active homosexuals. And the Church has done absolutely nothing to root out these miscreants.
Don't tell me about how these priests are upholding Scripture. They aren't---they are getting their sick kicks either with other gay men, or by raping boys.
Shouldn't that choice still be between God and the individual priest?
Just as a particular priest might decide to follow a more strict religious regimen (extra fasting, extra praying, etc) than his fellow priests, perhaps a priest might choose to remain celibate.
Eating is not a sin. Gluttony is a sin.
Taking it easy isn't a sin. Sloth is a sin.
Having sex isn't a sin. Having sex outside of marriage is.
Marriage is not a sin, that needs to be avoided, any more than eating is a sin. Priests don't need to fast all the time, out of fear that they will become gluttonous if they eat or that their mealtimes will interfere with their work. Why must all priests avoid marriage all the time?
Servicemen and service women and doctors have lives that demand sacrifices of them. Are we going to say that they can't get married because marriage will interfere with their vocations?
Additionally, if you are married your ability to move up in rank is limited to a certain level.
It just seems, regardless of religion, the left is trying to make god in the left's image.
Despite his slant toward celibacy, the Apostle Paul recognized marriage as being perfectly in line with the Christian lifestyle. He writes, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her" (Ephesians 5:25). Earthly marriage between a man and a woman has always been looked upon as being representative of Christ's relationship with the church. To say that marriage has absolutely no place in the priesthood is to read something into Scripture that just isn't there.
Nowhere in Scripture will you find that the clergy are commanded to be celibate. That is strictly an invention of the Catholic Church. Members of the clergy are expected to be sexually pure, and I believe that a healthy sexual relationship within the confines of marriage definitely figures into that.
If a man believes that God has called him to a celibate lifestyle, more power to him. But if he believes he is called to a life of wedded companionship in his service for the Lord, it seems unfair that his usefulness as a priest would be so casually dismissed. Those who have been covered by the blood of the Lamb are all priests (1 Peter 2:9) and saints (1 Corinthians 1:2) in the eyes of God, and I believe that a healthy marriage, even among the clergy, is pleasing in God's sight. To say that marriage has no place in the priesthood of the Catholic Church is to say that God was foolish for instituting marriage in the first place.
So, once again, it appears that the Church has to decide which is more important, Catholic tradition or Holy Scripture. Firstly, there is no command for anyone to avoid marriage and live a celibate lifestyle. Secondly, a healthy marriage relationship among the clergy is actually encouraged (1 Timothy 3). Why is that so difficult for some to accept?
What a low opinion this author has of marriage! Does he think that all married people are adulterers? Is adultery the only problem married couples face?
This article reeks of the priest is superior to the poor mortal layman attitude that the Church of Rome has always had and which is the real cause of the ongoing sex scandals that have plagued the papacy. This is only the most recent example. It will continue because the Church of Rome is apostate and is no part of the Christian Faith. She is the Beast biding her time.
WHO is goig to pay for all of the houses needed for these families? WHO is going to pay for the education of the hildren? WHO is going to pay for the clothes for the wife and kids? The PARISHONERS are going to DOUBLE what they give or TRIPLE what they give....in order for the priests o marry?? I DON'T THINK SO!
What if the priest marries a non-Catholic? What if she cheats on him? What if the kids turn Satanic? What if the wfe is a cleptomaniac? What if she has an abortion?
Gee, people, it's not all that difficult to see a practical, secular side to celibacy.
Matt. 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!
I think Jesus was pretty far sighted, God ordained and blessed marriage, God does not preclude married men from serving in the Church as heads of the Church under strict guidelines. I think it is better to follow God's way, than man's way.