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  • #1188
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    :rolleyes:
    Celibacy of Priests

    Until Christ came along (Mt 19:12), and then Paul (1 Cor. 7:32-35),
    the only state of life known was marriage. The rabbis taught that a
    man was only half a man if he wasn’t married by 20. But even in the
    Old Testament some of the prophets, like Elijah and Jeremiah, chose
    celibacy. By Jesus’ time the great rabbis spoke of the possibility
    of “marrying Torah,” that is, dedicating their whole life to the
    study of the Word. Paul was one who did, both before and after his
    conversion. Jesus is, of course, THE WORD, and infinitely more
    deserving of total dedication than the written word.

    It should not be surprising, therefore, that Jesus should speak of
    some who would remain celibate (“eunuchs”) for the sake of the
    Kingdom of God (Mt 19:12). St. Paul not only continued his pre-
    conversion celibacy as a Christian but recommended it for those who
    would be dedicated to serving God in this world (1 Cor. 7:7, 17, 32-
    35). He was speaking to a general audience and so he does not oblige
    it. But observe what he says in verse 17, “Only, everyone should
    live as the Lord has assigned, just as God called each one. I give
    this order in all the churches.” This coincides with the admonition
    of Jesus to follow the vocation given by God, whether celibacy (Mt
    19:12) or marriage (v.11).

    Now Jesus said that if one could accept celibacy for the sake of the
    Kingdom one should and Paul says it is the best way for those
    dedicated to the Kingdom, and BOTH of them lived this total
    dedication to the will of the Father for the salvation of souls.
    Given the mentality of the world, both Jewish and Pagan, it was
    impossible at the beginning to find mature candidates for the
    priesthood who were not already married. Only with the arrival of a
    generally Christian milieu, where virginity and celibacy were
    honored into adult life, would celibate candidates for Holy Orders
    be generally available. Not surprisingly, then, the Church discerned
    with time that the gift of celibacy from God (who alone can give
    such a gift), together with the desire to serve God and His people,
    was an indication of a vocation to the priesthood. THIS has not
    always and everywhere been imposed in the Church, but almost
    immediately in Church history we find it recommended and even
    required in some places. Although Latin Rite Catholic priests for
    the last 1000 years have had to be celibate, Eastern Rite Catholic
    priests and priests of the Orthodox Churches (not in union with
    Rome) do not. However, ALL bishops in both the Catholic and Orthodox
    Churches MUST be celibates. They represent Christ to the people in
    their dioceses and Christ’s bride is the Church (Eph 5:21-33) not
    someone else. So, it is entirely fitting that bishops not marry EVER
    and that priests not marry either, though in some traditions it is
    allowed PRIOR to ordination.

    The fact that the apostles were married says nothing about the
    practice, since they were Jewish and followed the practices of their
    day, until Christ came along. Tradition affirms that they remained
    celibates after they followed Christ.

    With the grace of Redemption came the possibility of celibacy and
    virginity for the sake of the Kingdom of God for more than the
    privileged few. It is a total gift of self to the Lord, fitting for
    those whose vocation is dedicated to love and service of God and
    neighbor. Unfortunately, it is something the worldly who do not
    understand the power of God have difficulty accepting, then as now.

    #5873
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    My answer is yes.

    #5880

    You know, this is an interesting topic because the priests in the Eastern rites do, but inthe Latin rite they do not (with the exceptions already noted above).

    Why the difference? Why not allow marriage for all or ban marriage for all?

    #5886
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I would think varying social, financial, cultural, aspects would affect a priest. Since they differ in the East, that may be a factor to think about. But I’m not really sure these play any impact in todays world anymore.
    Good topic weather..

    #5893
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    :rolleyes:
    The question I have is if priests were allowed to marry and each had about 5 or 6 kids(no birth control of course)were would the archdiocese’s house them?Would it be a great money burden on the church?Just a thought.

    #5902

    [quote:1kzfyivt]:rolleyes:
    The question I have is if priests were allowed to marry and each had about 5 or 6 kids(no birth control of course)were would the archdiocese’s house them?Would it be a great money burden on the church?Just a thought.[/quote:1kzfyivt]
    Priests are paid a salary…they can manage their families just like the rest of the population. Why is it the responsibility of the Church at large to take care of them?

    #5910
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    [quote:1qvfu1fm]Priests are paid a salary…they can manage their families just like the rest of the population. Why is it the responsibility of the Church at large to take care of them?[/quote:1qvfu1fm]

    Don’t we take care of preist already? How do they get their salary?

    #5911

    [quote:ruon5ops][quote:ruon5ops]Priests are paid a salary…they can manage their families just like the rest of the population. Why is it the responsibility of the Church at large to take care of them?[/quote:ruon5ops]

    Don’t we take care of preist already? How do they get their salary?[/quote:ruon5ops]
    Many priests get their bills paid for by their parish and a stipend of some nature. Weather makes it sound like the larger the family a priest has the more money the church will have to shell out for this priest’s family. However, this isn’t the case with any other worker in the world – if I wanted to have 6 kids my pay wouldn’t increase because of it.

    So, what I am saying is that priests would have to manage their families just like everyone else – with the money they are paid.

    I’ll even propose that the parishes stop paying the bills and priests get a normal ministers salary to live on.

    #5912
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    [quote:140pgrwy]
    Don’t we take care of preist already? How do they get their salary?
    Many priests get their bills paid for by their parish and a stipend of some nature. Weather makes it sound like the larger the family a priest has the more money the church will have to shell out for this priest’s family. However, this isn’t the case with any other worker in the world – if I wanted to have 6 kids my pay wouldn’t increase because of it.

    So, what I am saying is that priests would have to manage their families just like everyone else – with the money they are paid.

    I’ll even propose that the parishes stop paying the bills and priests get a normal ministers salary to live on.[/quote:140pgrwy]

    That is a good point Jon. Do you think all these new tasks would make a difference in the priests priorities, focus, and so on?
    I mean, both Eastern Orthodox and Protestants have married pastors and [b:140pgrwy]some [/b:140pgrwy] seem to do just fine. But I would have to say that life as a Catholic priest in the US is a bit more complicated.
    For example,
    A priest in Africa doesn’t have to worry about finding a company to work on the audio system of the Church. Or find someone that will network the computers. And I’m sure you get the gist of what I’m talking about.
    Granted, that the priest in our parish probably has people helping him do that but he is still a project manager overlooking that things are getting done. This is added responsibilities on top of being married and being a dad.

    #5914

    Are those responsibilites much different from being the vice president of a corporation?

    #5916
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    [quote:30yq7q0q]Are those responsibilites much different from being the vice president of a corporation?[/quote:30yq7q0q]

    Perhaps not, but the vice president of the corporation isn’t trying to get people to heaven and the impact of either of them making an error doesn’t compare IMO.

    Are vice presidents in other countries any different in your opinion?

    #5917

    What do other countries have to do with this? I’m not clear what you are asking about vice-prez’s of other countries.

    I was talking about private corporations.

    #5919
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    [quote:74bq6ktq]What do other countries have to do with this? I’m not clear what you are asking about vice-prez’s of other countries.

    I was talking about private corporations.[/quote:74bq6ktq]

    Nevermind. I was attempting to show that a vice prez in a poverished country would in fact have less responsibilities then one that is in a wealthier country. I suppose that isn’t a good example so nevermind.

    #5920
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I would say no because Jesus was never married.

    #5937
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    But Peter was.

    For clarity, married men may join the priesthood in the Eastern Rites but priests may not marry. And Eastern Rite bishops must be celibate (they are not chosen from among married priests).

    #5942
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    [quote:4mqg3upy]But Peter was.

    For clarity, married men may join the priesthood in the Eastern Rites but priests may not marry. And Eastern Rite bishops must be celibate (they are not chosen from among married priests).[/quote:4mqg3upy]

    Isn’t this true of the West as well?

    #5943
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    In a very limited fashion. In the West, a married man can receive dispensation (my word, not necessarily the accurate word) to join the priesthood.

    This has been reserved, so far, only to clergy from another church converting to Catholicism (most particularly Anglicans).

    #5944
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    [quote:163vt2rd]In a very limited fashion. In the West, a married man can receive dispensation (my word, not necessarily the accurate word) to join the priesthood.

    This has been reserved, so far, only to clergy from another church converting to Catholicism (most particularly Anglicans).[/quote:163vt2rd]

    Whereas in the East it was open to all faiths, not just Anglicans? <img decoding=:” title=”Question” />
    I don’t get it. <img decoding=” title=”Neutral” />

    #5945
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    In the West, you need special permission to become a priest if you are married because the Latin Church has ruled that it will only ordain celibate men. This special permission is typically only given to clerical converts from other closely-Catholic Christian sects (i.e. your average Baptist pastor would likely not be granted this permission).

    In the East, you do not need special permission. While celibacy is seen as the preferred state for a priest, there is no rule against the ordination of married Catholic men.

    #5946
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    [quote:329m67f1]In the West, you need special permission to become a priest if you are married because the Latin Church has ruled that it will only ordain celibate men. This special permission is typically only given to clerical converts from other closely-Catholic Christian sects (i.e. your average Baptist pastor would likely not be granted this permission).

    In the East, you do not need special permission. While celibacy is seen as the preferred state for a priest, there is no rule against the ordination of married Catholic men.[/quote:329m67f1]

    Ah gotcha…..thanks. <img decoding=” title=”Smile” />

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