Priestly celibacy

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Joan89

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Although I am not fundamentally opposed to marriage in the priesthood, I recently heard an argument FOR the practice that I found very troubling. I wonder if anyone could give me some direction on arguments either for the intuition of this practice or opposing it that would be considered by the Church to be theologically sound ( I mean beyond the fact that St. Peter and some of the other apostles may have been married during their ministry)?

Thanks!
 
If a priest gets married, how can he give enough of himself to both his wife and his parish? One of them will get neglected.

Notworthy
 
Priestly celibacy is a discipline; thus, it can be changed.

Historically speaking, it was long felt (as St. Paul expressed), that unmarried men were better able to serve the Lord, as they only had themselves to consider, while married men, by the definition of marriage, not only had to consider themselves but their wives, and families, too.

But the discipline could be changed, for some or for all, because “better able” does not mean that the married man could NOT serve the Lord. While I personally cannot foresee the situation that would lead the Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to proclaim that this long held discipline would be changed, that doesn’t mean the situation could not arise.

What we must do is trust to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. There have been many, MANY “crises” in the Church–in fact, we came THIS close to being not Christians but Arians when most of the hierarchy forsook Christianity for this heresy. We came THIS close to gnosticism, to Manichianism, to Islam. We came THIS close to being wiped out by pagan Rome. There have always been difficult times and there always will be, but the Church itself will stand until the end of time. You have HIS word on that.
 
Having spent my life in Protestant churches, I’d put my vote in for priestly celibacy. I’m sure folks out there can come up with anecdotal exceptions, but for my own part I have never known a Protestant preacher whose ministry was helped by his having a wife and family. On the other hand, I can come up with a list as long as my arm of preachers whose ministry was compromised or destroyed by family obligations, conflicts of interest, and outright scandals. A preacher, minister, priest, what have you, ought to be a father to his flock. He has a family. And any mere human possessed of two families will sooner or later find himself stretched beyond his limits, and be forced to choose one to the other’s detriment.

If I understand Catholic teaching correctly, allowing clergy to marry is a prudential decision that the Church could make (unlike, say, ordaining women). But do be careful what you wish for.
 
Just for my information, where does St. Paul express this?
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Here: Corinthians 1:32
But I would have you to be without solicitude. He that is without a wife, is solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please God. 33 But he that is with a wife, is solicitous for the things of the world, how he may please his wife: and he is divided.
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NotWorthy:
If a priest gets married, how can he give enough of himself to both his wife and his parish? One of them will get neglected.

Notworthy
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“Then Peter said ‘Behold we have left all things, and have followed thee’ Who said to them: ‘Amen, I say to you, there is no man that has left house, or parents, or brethren, or WIFE, or CHILDREN, for the kingdom of God’s sake. Who shall not receive much more to this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting’.” Luke 18:28-30 I think Christ settled the matter quite nicely two housand years ago. Why do laymen focus so much on priestly celibacy? I think priests ought to come out with a letter telling the laity what Jesus told Peter when he obsessed over John’s vocation. "Jesus saith to him: ‘So I will have him remain till I come, WHAT IS IT TO THEE? follow thou me’ ". John 20:23 Personally I think the priestly celibacy issue is diversionary, divisive and just plain silly. “And avoid foolish and unlearned questions, knowing that they beget strife”. 2 Tim 2:23. I think all catholics should take St. Paul’s words to heart.
 
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Joan89:
Although I am not fundamentally opposed to marriage in the priesthood, I recently heard an argument FOR the practice that I found very troubling. I wonder if anyone could give me some direction on arguments either for the intuition of this practice or opposing it that would be considered by the Church to be theologically sound ( I mean beyond the fact that St. Peter and some of the other apostles may have been married during their ministry)?

Thanks!
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Not all Catholic priests are celibate, nor are all Catholic priests required to be celibate.

Remember, only priests in the Latin Rite are celibate. The Melkite Rite Catholic priests, the Italo-Albanian Rite Catholic priests, etc. are allowed to marry. Even within the Latin Rite, many Anglican-use priests are married.

Celibacy is a beautiful tradition of the Latin Rite. Perhaps it should be made optional, but then we would lose one of the distinct characteristics of our Rite within the Catholic Church.
 
I had always thought priestly celibacy was a discpline only of The Church…however it is Canon Law and hence cannot be changed as I understand matters:

catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0171.html

What appears in the text box below is only a small section of the overall article:
The Code of Canon Law reflects these three “significances” in Canon 277, which mandates clerical celibacy: “Clerics are obliged to observe perfect and perpetual continence for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven and therefore are obliged to observe celibacy, which is a special gift of God, by which sacred ministers can adhere more easily to Christ with an undivided heart and can more freely dedicate themselves to the services of God and mankind.”
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Barb
 
Since it is a discipline it could indeed change…then canon law would also change accordingly. I don’t see it happening, but that’s the case.

Canon law can and does change when needed…especially where church disciplines are concerned.
 
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SFH:
Not all Catholic priests are celibate, nor are all Catholic priests required to be celibate.

Remember, only priests in the Latin Rite are celibate. The Melkite Rite Catholic priests, the Italo-Albanian Rite Catholic priests, etc. are allowed to marry. Even within the Latin Rite, many Anglican-use priests are married.

Celibacy is a beautiful tradition of the Latin Rite. Perhaps it should be made optional, but then we would lose one of the distinct characteristics of our Rite within the Catholic Church.
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Just a minor correction. In the Eastern and Oriental Catholic Churches, married men can be ordained. However, once they are ordained, they are no longer permitted to marry. Also, if a married priest is widowed, he cannot remarry. Finally, married priests cannot be elevated to bishop.
 
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mtr01:
Just a minor correction. In the Eastern and Oriental Catholic Churches, married men can be ordained. However, once they are ordained, they are no longer permitted to marry. Also, if a married priest is widowed, he cannot remarry. Finally, married priests cannot be elevated to bishop.
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Are married men required to become celibate once they are ordained or can they live normal married lives.
 
since the definition of celibate is unmarried, then obviously married Eastern rite priests may remain married. In the past there were, I believe, restrictions on the timing of marital relations, as their were in the Jewish priesthood, don’t know if that still holds. Monks may not be married, nor bishops.
 
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puzzleannie:
since the definition of celibate is unmarried, then obviously married Eastern rite priests may remain married. In the past there were, I believe, restrictions on the timing of marital relations, as their were in the Jewish priesthood, don’t know if that still holds. Monks may not be married, nor bishops.
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You are right. I should have used the word continent.
 
I’m a Protestant, studying the Catholic faith. On this issue, I’m ambivalent. Contrary to a couple of posts here, I’ve seen where plenty of cases where married ministers are a blessing to the church. In our case, which I admit is a bit unusual, our pastor and wife complement their ministry. She doesn’t pastor in any way shape or form, but she is a licensed psychologist who has blessed many in the church. Both will team up in marriage seminars that are dynomite.
On the other hand, I have seen pastoral marriages that do not benefit the church…especially in smaller churches. Remember, the average Protestant church is not a mega church with thousands attending, but usually less than 70 in attendance. Sad case but true. That’s a large part of the 33,000 “flavors” of Protestantism. But the really sad case is, it’s the wife who is often the loser in pastoral marriages. She is the one who often gets neglected because the pastor’s true wife is often the church.
This is partly due to the fact that the pastor’s wife doesn’t have the education and training her husband has and the fact than in many Protestant churches the wife is assigned a lower tier secondary role. At the same time unusually high expectations are made of her that are frankly not fair.
So I’ve seen both sides of the issue. I lean toward the celebate minister, but I’m not sure it would work well in a Protestant setting. Protestant churches tend to favor married pastors because the are afraid of sexual temptations for single ones.
In the Catholic church, I think married priests could work, but at this place in history, I’d recommend sticking with the tried and true. (As if I have any say in the matter huh?}
IMHO
Thirsty
 
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NotWorthy:
If a priest gets married, how can he give enough of himself to both his wife and his parish? One of them will get neglected.
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I have a friend who’s brother is a Protestant pastor, and she says this is exactly what happens in his case.
 
Church Militant:
There have been (at least) 2 other threads on this topic that I have been involved in and so I will link you to them for reference sake. I think the discussions are pretty well balanced.
Xavier’s Contention That Priestly Celibacy Is Unbiblical and Celibacy.
Pax tecum
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Folks in this thread prefer to flee from the biblical evidence. I guess it makes it easier to embrace personal opinion at the expense of truth. Oh well, continue the foolish strife. 2 Tim 2:23
 
Tantum ergo:
Here: Corinthians 1:32
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FYI: its 1 Corinthians 7:32

That whole chapter sounds rather strange if you look at it as general advice for any Christian. I do not think we have the whole picture here in what Paul is talking about. For example in verse 1: “Now for the matters you wrote about:”

We don’t know what those matters were so we don’t have the full picture. What we do know is that among the Corinthians at the time: “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you , and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans:” (1 Corinthians 5:1)

If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.

It is clear from chapter 5 that sex was a causing the Corinthians to sin, so I think chapter 7 is Paul’s special advice for the Corinthians to pluck sin out of their lives altogether to try to save their souls.

The bottom line is that I can’t imagine that 1 Corintians 7 would be Paul’s general advice for everyone regarding marriage, much less clergy unless sex represents a special stumbling block.
 
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SFH:
Not all Catholic priests are celibate, nor are all Catholic priests required to be celibate.

Remember, only priests in the Latin Rite are celibate. The Melkite Rite Catholic priests, the Italo-Albanian Rite Catholic priests, etc. are allowed to marry. Even within the Latin Rite, many Anglican-use priests are married.
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That is they are allowed to be married before ordination.

No priest within the Catholic Church can get married after ordination.

The same goes for deacons. This is more than a discipline.

The discipline has to do with ordaining married men.

Just wanted to clarify.
 
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