Get Rid of the Celibacy Requirement

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And in some other countries, there is an over-abundance of priests… But we are talking here about the problems in the United States right now. There are parishes that have shut down, priests who are pastors for two or three parishes, we’ve “borrowed” many priests from African countries and the Philippines to help celebrate Mass and hear confessions in the United States. Do you have the source for your Latin American countries stats? It surprises me since they are mostly Catholic countries. Am I wrong?
 
Are you sure that they are legal ordinations? there is certainly a detail that escapes us, can someone give me a reference to the canon law that authorizes ordination as a priest, of permanent deacons married?
I am a little skeptical in that it is rather now that there is a debate as to whether one can ordain as priest the “veri probatis”, if the ordination of married deacons is officially possible then the current debate does not make sense …
 
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Sarcelle said:
Being continent as a single person is also demanded of single laity and not just priests. There is one difference though. At least a priest knows before being ordained that celibacy is required of him. The single lay person often times is celibate against his or her will. However chastity is still expected of him or her. So is why is this expectation okay for laity but not okay for priests?
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the difference is that a single can marry if he finds a soulmate, while the priest can not. A priest is obliged to practice the virtue of virginity which is more demanding than the mere virtue of chastity of a single person. In the virtue of virginity, one must sacrifice even the desire to have a licit conjugal union
 
I agree. It also seems that priests are having trouble remaining celibate. If you have a large percentage of priests who don’t remain celibate, whether they are straight or not, the requirement for celibacy is counterproductive. The end result is a priesthood that lacks moral authority and can’t preach what it supposedly believes.

The eastern churches have always had married priests, and the west once did too, so there is no reason why the west couldn’t have them again. The eastern churches allow married men to become priests, once they have been ordained though they can no longer get married. Bishops are drawn from the celibate priests. Maybe the bishops could be drawn from the monastic communities, like they do in the Orthodox churches.
 
To practice virginity, you have to be a virgin. I think continence is the more technical term.
 
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What if the single never does find his soulmate?
What now? Life never goes the way we plan it. He has to remain continent in his single state, whether he likes it or not.

The priest on the other hand knows that he cannot get married once ordained. He had a choice. He still chose to be ordained anyway.

Compare this to a single lay person who would dearly love to get married but can’t. He has no choice.
 
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No, you confuse the state of virginity with the virtue of virginity. The virtue of virginity is a commitment to abstain forever from any lawful or unlawful sexual act in the future, it can be practiced by everyone, whether or not in a state of virgnity.
 
you take the problem in the wrong way! the unmarried has a possibility of reducing his burden if he meets the soul mate.
But we forbid this possibility to a priest! And the question is whether such a ban is right?
 
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In other words, why would it be right to forbid marriage to a priest who meets his soulmate if objectively such a marriage can not harm his basic vocation which is to teach, to sanctify, and to govern?
Or for what just reason should we refuse to ordain a priest who is available and has the opportunity to serve the faithful just because he is married?
 
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Possibilities does not equal reality.

The priest had a choice. Either get ordained and forego marriage or not.

Now supposing a man chooses not to be a priest so he can get married. As I said before, he may never get married. He still has to practice continence if he want to live by Catholic teachings.

I do not get why you are being so worked up over the celibacy of priests. It’s not like they are forcibly ordaining men against their will and the celibacy is no big secret.

By the way, celibacy is not dogma, just a discipline. I am all for ordaining married men. We can start with deacons. I am not in favor of letting already ordained men getting married.
 
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apostle Paul’s statement: “I wish that all men were even as I myself” (I Corinthians 7:7).
 
So if those same priests were allowed to get married they wouldn’t have molested children?

Celibacy causes pedophilia?

Yes or no?
 
I think more gays are celibate than straights.

Gays are more likely not to be married (Celibate) than straights. That is especially true if they seek to be good Catholics.

Does that make sense?
 
Celibacy doesn’t cause pedophilia, but the celibacy rule eliminates a huge swathe of potential priests leaving a very limited pool from which to draw candidates. Many homosexuals enter the priesthood to hide their sexuality. They mistakenly believe that celibacy will cure SSA. Pedophiles go where they can find victims. They are opportunistic and will only be stopped by an outside force.

What happens is many men discover that they do not have the charism of celibacy. Heterosexuals start having relationships with women. Homosexuals have relationships with men. Pedophiles abuse children. The Catholic Church does not like to lose priests. It goes to great lengths to keep them, even when its clear there never was a vocation. The men are compromised, especially the homosexuals. They can’t address abuse for fear of being exposed. It’s a vicious cycle. Read Richard Sipe.

Additionally, very few people of any branch of Christianity wants to enter religious life. Families are smaller and will remain small. Large families of the past will never again be the norm. The culture is completely different. A celibate priesthood is not sustainable. It needs to be an optional vow for those with the charism of celibacy. The other half will be married priests and deacons.
 
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Catholicism will never cease the celibacy ritual. Prophecies in the bible are unable to be stopped. The bible gives lots of prophecies about Catholicism, including celibacy.

1 Timothy 1-4

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
 
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As I said before I have no opposition to ordaining married men.

I am opposed to the assumption that celibacy causes pedophilia.

I myself am single and observing chastity appropriate to my state in life. I assure you I am not a pedophile nor have I turned into or will turn into a pedophile.

As for gay men being more likely celibate and attracted to the priesthood to hide their SSA, that has changed. Being gay is now accepted everywhere and they are even allowed to marry.
 
No one is advocating completely eliminating celibacy. What we advocate is the inclusion of married men in the Catholic priesthood. We should imitate Eastern Rite Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox.
 
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