The Church has often deemed celibate love as of a higher order than that of marital love. This mentality is especially evident in the writings of monks, even the Augustinian and Protestant reformer Martin Luther who defected and had six children of his own. While promoting married clergy, Luther thought that sexual congress between a husband and wife was at least a venial sin. The antagonism was due to the lack of control and almost bestial passion. The marital act was heavily imbedded, no pun intended, in the perception that man was just another animal, more connected to earthly affairs than spiritual ones. Celibacy reflected something of the eschaton where Jesus said there would be no marriage or giving in marriage. We would be like the angels. The testimony of St. Paul in favor of perfect continence and the model of Christ’s life insured that the celibate model would be given preference as the exemplar for holiness of life. Married people could become saints but their carnality was remarked upon as a handicap. Obviously, the negative view could be taken to extremes. The marital act, as the consummation and renewal for the sacrament, was a holy union. The two became one flesh and we saw something of Christ’s love for the Church in their covenant. Celibacy would still be deemed as of a higher order but it would be wrong to disparage the graces that come to a husband and wife.
Today it seems that many Catholics cater to the same negativity toward celibacy and virginity as most Protestant reformers. We should not imagine that the reformers attacked virginity or urged marriage simply from principle. Celibacy created a grouping of men and women who belonged entirely to the Church. It was sometimes difficult to intimidate such faithful sons and daughters. However, earthly princes, both German and English, learned quickly that if you give a man a wife and family then his first concern, more so than not, was their welfare. They would become more dependent upon the temporal ruler and accommodate his brand of religion. This coarse and opportunistic attack upon celibacy was disguised behind allegations of hypocrisy and unnatural lifestyles, just as critics today carelessly banter charges of child molestation. The notion of a meritorious virginity was reduced to the butt of jokes.
Filed under: Anti-Catholicism, Apologetics, Catholic, Celibacy, Morality, Priests, Religion, Sacraments, Sexuality, Sin |
Blogger Priest 
Dear Father Joe,
As I said in my previous questions/comments to you, I appreciate that you answer my questions w/o me having to ask them!
I do have a few comments about your posts about celibacy.
1) Some of your comments about Protestants come across as very negative and derogatory, which may not be in your intent. If we are ALL to LOVE one another as Christ demands, shouldn’t we accept our differences and not be exclusionary or derogatory about another person’s beliefs?
2) I will allow you to quote the Bible because I am not going to take the time to look it up, but Paul did say celibacy was the ideal. After all, whether she was a real person or just a myth, Thecla, to the chagrin of the men, believed whole-heartedly in celibacy for women!
3) As much as I try to understand a celibate priesthood, from my Protestant lens I can’t help but wonder how you can truly counsel families who are having a tough time with, say, teenagers. When my son was causing us grief and turning my hair gray, I appreciated that my pastor and his wife (who is a counselor in her own right) had walked in our shoes with one of their sons. I firmly believe that NONE of us can truly understand another person or her/his situation unless we have walked in the same shoes. We can feel empathy, we can offer sage wisdom, but we cannot truly understand.
Thanks again for helping me to understand the church I have had a life-long fascination with. I have been on my spiritual journey since I was 10 and it continues a gazillion years later! My journey includes learning about, and understanding, as many denominations as I can, including those that are not Christian.
Blessings!