Castrati

[Abira]

I think they’d be allowed to be priests. Catholic priests are celibate anyways, remember.

i read in a thread here, cant remember if it’s this one or another i read…

they said that a priest had to be physically perfect and that that rule was later relaxed.

S

 

[I_Leatherman]

I was wondering about castrato’s in relation to natural moral law… they would never be allowed to have sex etc i assume,

Why?, who would not allow them? Some very famous ones were also famous/infamous for their love lives.:whacky:

 

[Abira]

Why? Some very famous ones were also famous/infamous for their love lives.

because they couldn’t reproduce, so they would have been encouraged to be chaste…as natural law of the church would dictate.

also their sex drive would have meant they were kinda…not that interested lol

the stories that were spread were simply because they were a fashionable accessory and it was trendy to bed one… they were most likely rubbish lovers… but i was thinking more on the lines of them not being able to have sex morally as they wouldn’t be able to have children.

S

 

[Abira]

i think this is also the reason they were not allowed to marry… as the marriage would not be open to childbirth because of the ‘contraception’ or surgery performed on the boys.

S

 

[Abira]

I think they’d be allowed to be priests. Catholic priests are celibate anyways, remember.

This is what someone said in another thread:

A castrato could not become a priest. A candidate for priesthood had to be physically “perfect” (as the Lamb). Recently, this rule has been changed, and although castration is still not acceptable, other physical disabilities, such as blindness, no longer lock you out of the process.

Of course, if you become disabled or lose a limb (or are castrated) AFTER ordination, that does not mean you can no longer be a priest.

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=49067&highlight=castrati

I’m not sure if they’re right or wrong, I just remembered reading it.

S

 

[I_Leatherman]

because they couldn’t reproduce, so they would have been encouraged to be chaste…as natural law of the church would dictate.

also their sex drive would have meant they were kinda…not that interested lol

the stories that were spread were simply because they were a fashionable accessory and it was trendy to bed one… they were most likely rubbish lovers… but i was thinking more on the lines of them not being able to have sex morally as they wouldn’t be able to have children.

S

Well, everyone is supposed to be chaste, yes?, I think I got that right. But, unless they were into that type of morality nobody would stop them. If they wanted to be moral they probably would not marry, by choice.

 

[VociMike]

Castrato singers existed long before they first entered the papal (Sistine) choir. Possibly has long as 1000 years before. And as others have said, they became some of the “rock stars” of their age. Rightly or wrongly, many poor families thought of this as an opportunity for their sons.

 

[Abira]

Well, everyone is supposed to be chaste, yes?, I think I got that right. But, unless they were into that type of morality nobody would stop them. If they wanted to be moral they probably would not marry, by choice.

lol, yeah, I guess not all of them managed to be chaste… but as far as their upbringing, and the religion of the time, they were mostly Catholic… and not allowed to marry by the Catholic church at all… this also extended to other denominations, such as lutherans in Germany etc etc…so it’s a commonly held view of the churches…

some did manage to marry by disguising themselves or moving away from their place of birth though this was rare due to their seriously altered appearances.

S

 

[LilyM]

Why?, who would not allow them? Some very famous ones were also famous/infamous for their love lives.:whacky:

Well, not like you needed to lose the ahem essential organ to be a castrato - after all it doesn’t affect the voice. Just the ahem accessory organs. So they’d be able to ahem perform as lovers.

 

[Abira]

Well, not like you needed to lose the ahem essential organ to be a castrato - after all it doesn’t affect the voice. Just the ahem accessory organs. So they’d be able to ahem perform as lovers.

lol, yeah…i didn’t actually intend to get sidetracked by this side of the debate though

I asked it in relation to natural law and reproduction etc… i’m not really interested in that part ahem lol lol… I think you were right earlier saying the chat would go downhill quickly lol… I was thinking that the church willingly accepted and debatably encouraged this trend knowing it was in a sense a fom of contraception

and yet it does not support any kind of snip or contraception nowadays… I think they turned a blind eye to this and it doesn’t sit with other advice given relating to natural law and contraception or surgery to stop childbirth etc… that’s what I was inquiring about.

S

 

[Michael_Francis]

Question asked and answered. Thread closed.