Hey why is it wrong for priests to marry?

[itsjustdave1988]

There are some that have “renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of God” (Matt 19:11-12). There’s nothing in Scripture that either mandates or prohibits the Church from selecting clergy from those who have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom.

 

[justinmatter]

sbcoral:

I think the celibacy requirement is what led to the child abuse situation, and I think it should be dropped. I do not think that celibacy itself led to child abuse, but rather that celibacy discourages men with normal sexual impulses from considering the priesthood. I knew several good and devout young men while growing up who considered entering the priesthood but whose biological impulses to mate and procreate got the better of them. I think a lot of people enter the seminary because they don’t have that normal biological drive - maybe they’re gay, or maybe they’re not mature enough to know what they are - and perhaps they think they can find an escape in a life of celibacy. Then, as priests, facing what must be a frequently lonely and even desperate life, some of those people give in to very bad impulses and end up abusing kids.

I think allowing for married men to enter the priesthood would be a great response to the child sex abuse scandal. A man with a family and children of his own is a lot easier to trust around other children than a solitary man living as a eunuch. Also, I think the Church might gain a little understanding about issues with which a large majority of practicing Catholics disagree with the hierarchy - we might get some realistic teaching about things like birth control from bishops and priests who actually know something about creating and raising and supporting families.

i really can’t agree with that.
here’s something that might help:

reformation.com/

this site lists the number of protestant clergy reported for child abuse.
as you can see, marriage or celibacy does not have much to do with it.
paedophilia, like homosexuality and others, is an intrinsically disordered state of sexuality.
i suspect that the proportion of clergy who are padophiles will be about the same as in the general populace, except for the sensation and scandal surrounding the issue (i’m yet to see an unbiased survey on it, or for that matter, on most sexual issues.

also, i can’t agree with the suggestion that the church will be better served on “things like birth control” by having married clergy in the hierarchy.
one does not depend on personal or general opinion in matters of faith, morality and doctrine

(we might as well start voting on divorce, abortion, pornography, etc- they are all pretty well accepted in several circles but that does not make them right)

on the contrary, i would rather the the hierarchy was not burdened with the pressures of responsible parenthood while it had the duty of giving us the divine “opinion” on "things like birth control

 

[Tietjen]

otm:

In other words, any business owner, and attorney, and CPA, and doctor, and outside sales person, and any other profesional postion that demands more than a 40 hour work week is going to find results in the same or very similar family pressures. However, no one goes around saying that they should all be celibate.

Celibacy is not a convenience, nor is it a means of avoiding difficult responsibilities. It is a witness and a charism. As such it needs to be encouraged and supported with those who are gifted and choose it for those reasons.

Hi OTM,
I know that this passage from Matthew has been brought up before so please bear with me as I do it again. Mt 19:12 - “Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.” These were the words of Christ. While I would agree with you that celibacy is not a convenience, I disagree with your statement that it is a means of avoiding difficult responsibilities. Priests voluntarily take the vow of celibacy and remain unmarried in order to devote their entire being to the Church or as Christ put it, “for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.” Christ did not say “for the sake of your business” or “for the sake of your client” or “for the sake of your patient” etc. He was referring to those men who were specifically called to the service of the Church. Therefore, I don’t really see a need to compare other professions since that is not what Christ was saying. If a man doesn’t want to take the vow of celibacy, he shouldn’t. It doesn’t make him less of a man in the eyes of God or man. It simply means that in this case he may not continue down the path toward Priesthood.
St. Paul writes of this again in 1 Cor 7:32-35, “I should like you to be free of anxieties. An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But a married man is anxious about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and he is divided. An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit. A married woman, on the other hand, is anxious about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. I am telling you this for your own benefit, not to impose a restraint upon you, but for the sake of propriety and adherence to the Lord without distraction.”
This advice from Paul is sound. It is not advice given to all of mankind but rather to those few who are being called to serve within Christ’s Church. He isn’t applying it to a doctor, lawyer, CPA, or any other profession which calls for 40+ hours per week.

 

[Kevin_Walker]

As I was going to say and make a prompt reply …

1. ***“The vow of celibacy is a matter of keeping one’s word to Christ and the Church. A duty and a proof of the priest’s inner maturity; it is the expression of his personal dignity.” *Pope John Paul II

Celibacy is positive proof of the Catholic Priest’s commitment to God, the Church, and his vocation; and celibacy is proof of the priest’s independence of the material world and his metaphysical commitment to God, to remain focused and energetic with no distractions to his vocation and therefore independent of worldly weaknesses, temptations, and influences.

1. Please review:
   catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0121.html

Asceticism is aligned with all world religions which include celibacy as condition of one’s commitment to their word and living proof of their word that they will not be distracted by material things in their service to God. The Japanese formed the Korean Taego Order ,1910-1954, by forcing celibate Korean Buddhist Chogye monks to get married to aid in the pacification of Korea for Japanese occupation.

No married man can prove his commitment beyond his wife and children to the utmost service of God; no married man can remain aloof from the world without being bribed, coerced, or forced to abandon the world of God to fend for his wife, children and family. No married holyman can serve two masters, his family and God, without having to make the ultimate decision between the two at some point in his life.

The celibate (Roman) Catholic Priest is focused, unbribable, outside the world of basic needs and petty influences, can operate on a minimum of material goods and petty wealth; can devote himself entirely to God, Church, vocation, without need of government support. The chaste Priest is harder to tempt and coerce than the average family man or sexually active male.

The materialist communist parties of the world were totally perplexed about celibant priests who did not fall into their communist idea of the economic determination of human behaviour, so communists simply killed all Catholic Priests in their sphere’s of influence because they didn’t conform to their flawed Communist world order.

The married minister, in the high Anglican Church, cannot be guarranteed to keep the confessional secure from their wives, particuarly at night when men tend to talk. It has been observed in high Protestant churches that you only want to disclose in the confessional what you are willing for the Reverand’s wife to gossip at dinner.

There are many good reasons for a celibant Catholic Priesthood, and it shouldn’t be ruined by the homosexual infiltration (the smoke of satan) of seminaries to disparage the sound doctrines of the Catholicism.

1. "To eliminate celibacy as a requirement for the religious life would do more harm than good. It would open the doors to plenty of unworthy vocations." Mario Derksen, Former Seminarian & Priest

novusordowatch.org/

cathinsight.com/apologetics/celibacy/3.htm

“The Church does benefit from the presence of celibate priests, and celibacy is a genuine calling from God, Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, Saint Paul, and Jesus are all exemplary examples of the celibate calling in Scripture.”

As early as the third century, local synods in the west began mandating celibate priesthood in some diocese, and excellent examples are such great saints as Anthony of the Desert; Jerome and Augustine; Francis of Assissi; Aquinas, and many more."

 

[Xavier]

Peter was maried.

game,set, match

 

[Genesis315]

Xavier:

Peter was maried.

game,set, match

No one claims that the clergy have always been celibate. i mean, shoot, there’s married priests today. I wonder, though, what Peter’s wife did while he was traveling around. It’s possible that she could have died beforehand. Either way, it doesn’t really matter. Paul wasn’t married and he suggested that it would be a good idea to be like him. Likewise, Jesus said it was a good idea too.

Celibate priests show a good example. They show that Jesus is all that’s necessary to satisfy you and make your life meaningful. Since sex is the most important thing in our society nowadays and all other Christian churches have caved into that mindset, people can’t understand why the Catholic Church still maintains celibacy is good (and also contraception is bad).

 

[Tietjen]

Xavier:

Peter was maried.

game,set, match

If this thread were about tennis, then it would be appropriate; however, since it is about Priests and whether or not they should marry, I see no just argument with your apparent victory cry of “game, set, match.”

As it has already been discussed, St. Peter was married and was not required by Christ to leave his wife. HOWEVER, should the clergy be allowed to be married? St. Peter was already married when he encountered our Lord and to leave her (and any children) would have been to break a previous vow before God and man. What did Christ say concerning this subject? Matthew 19:12 will tell you that (Game). What did Paul say concerning this subject? I Cor 7:32-35 will tell you that (Set). What does the Holy Father say concerning this subject? Not allowed in most cases after ordination nor prior to ordination if still married (Match).

 

[SPH1]

1. Forbidding to Marry as doctrine of demons. If that’s the case, then St. Paul himself was promoting the doctrine of demons where, in the same book of 1 Timothy, he forbids the widows to marry:

“But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry…” 1 Timothy 5:11 KJV.

See my article, Nuns in the New Testament Church?

2. Marriage as requirement for Bishop. Reference again the widows in 1 Timothy. One specific requirement is “having been the wife of one man.” 1 Timothy 5:9 KJV. Now, these women are WIDOWS, having no current husband. 1 Timothy 3:11 makes specific reference to the current wives of the deacons. I see no such provision to the current wives of the bishops. Having a current wife is not a scriptural requirement for a bishop. Rather, it means that the candidate for bishop should not have had serial marriages. See again, the widows. They have no current husband, so the requirement that they have been married once means only one prior husband.

I can easily read the Bishops as being in the same position as the widows: no current spouse, but having had only one prior spouse.

3. Married vs Celibate Priests. “He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.” 1 Cor. 7:32-33 KJV

We have Scriptural testimony that the celibate state is better for this job. If anything, priestly celibacy should be the norm and the burden of proof should be on those who promote a married clergy.

4. Peter’s wife. We have Gospel testimony from Christ and Peter himself that he and the apostles gave up everything - including wives - to follow Christ. See this quote from On Priestly Celibacy from insight944:

Luke 18:25-30 goes like this:

“For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Then those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” But he said, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” And Peter said, “Lo, we have left our homes and followed you.” And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no man who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive manifold more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Similar passages can be found in the other synoptic gospels; In Matt 19:27 and Mark 10:28, Peter says, “Lo, we have left everything and followed you.”

Clearly, the disciples left their homes and wives and children to begin their apostolic ministry and to found the Catholic Church. In keeping with the teaching of Paul, for those called to the priesthood, it is obviously far better to have never been married at all, than to leave one’s wife and home and children for the sake of the kingdom.

And Jesus alludes to the consecrated celibate life in Matt 19:11-12 “Not all men can receive this precept, but only to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it.”

5. Eastern Rite/Orthodox Priests: I understand that their Bishops are celibate.

 

[Tietjen]

Hi SPH1,

I believe that we are in agreement on this subject.

 

[SPH1]

Tietjen:

Hi SPH1,

I believe that we are in agreement on this subject.

Hi Tietjen and thanks.

Those Protestants who misinterpret 1 Tim. to make marriage a requirement for bishops (priests) are in a real fallacy that for some reason they cannot see.

For they would make the clergy exclusive to those who do not fully serve the Lord (married men) and exclude from the clergy those who do fully serve the Lord (consecrated celibacy.) 1 Cor. 7:32-33.

Nor is it solely up to the candidate for priesthood to dictate the terms and conditions for his ordination. That is properly the function of the Church authorities. The Church has every right, indeed, the duty to give preference to those who have given up everything for Christ (Luke 18:25-30; Matt 19:27 and Mark 10:28) and fully serve the Lord (1 Cor. 7:32).

That is what we should shoot for and fully support. Why would we want a Church primarily led by men not fully dedicated to Christ, as in Protestantism?

As I see it, Protestantism does not really value celibacy, at least the consecrated celibacy Scripture refers to. To the extent that celibacy is tolerated in Protestantism, it is as a temporary state pending marriage…or in between marriages.

Scripture flatly gives preference to celibacy with regard to the priesthood. (One might even argue that it’s a requirement.)

 

[Tietjen]

SPH1:

Scripture flatly gives preference to celibacy with regard to the priesthood. (One might even argue that it’s a requirement.)

Amen.

 

[saintmark]

Well, this is my first post but I believe that I can help out a little. Now first off, I don’t believe this forum was made to bash anyone’s beliefs. I’m a Latter-Day Saint, myself (mormon), and on our official Church website, we have a forum quite like this. I think its a great idea. Alright, now to the heart of the matter. I believe that the real question doesn’t lie in wether or not marriage is wrong, it obviously is something endowed by God, but the heart of the matter I believes lies in wether or not you believe that everyone should be married or not. It’s not unknown that my faith puts marriage as one of the highest sanctities in life and the actual duty of a man to do. We believe that when Paul was speaking of celebacy, he was speaking of just that, being celibate before marriage. Many of you have seen our young missionaries, each one not married. They are serving God, waiting before marriage. Does this mean to NEVER get married, we believe not, however, it does shed light onto Paul’s announcement that it is better to be celebate, and surely it is than to commit fornication. However, one cannot overlook the facts that Abraham, Isaac, Jakob, Joseph, and Adam all had wives and the Gospel was established through their posterity. They were all prophets, the most holy of men, yet seemed to be able to give their whole heart to God and also to their wives. I am married and I know that my love for God has only grown after being joined with my beloved Jennifer. I believe that marriage can bring a man closer to God, rather than destract him from it. How many good men have been led back on track by their wives when they wavered. How many women have inspired the poets, warriors, and prophets of God to do what is right? It is inevitabley true that men were meant to have a help meant for them and that’s why God gave man woman.