Priestly Celibacy: Evolution of a Sacrament

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Priestly Celibacy: Evolution of a Sacrament

Posted on September 28, 2013 by Father Joe

If the celibate priesthood represents the providential development of this sacrament, would not the general allowance for married priests represent a denial of this grace-filled trajectory? We are creatures who live in time and it is only in the fullness of time that the mysteries of God and of his Church are unraveled. The deposit of faith is fixed but not stagnant. The priesthood must be understood within the context of its purpose and history. I personally fail to see how a reversal can be permitted. It would seem to be a movement against the stream of history and the retrogression of holy orders to an earlier stage of development or appreciation. Our thoughts these days are so much about what the Church and the priesthood used to be. It may be that some critics are so desperate for the damage to be repaired that they would risk further harm by making more radical shifts. Pope Benedict XVI ardently sought to restore balance and to give an interpretation of Vatican II through the eyes of tradition and not modernity. As to what approach we are now taking, only time and prayer will show. However, whatever we do, the needs of the Church and the value of the priesthood should be given full measure over self-seeking desires and personal or particularized relationships. Marriage might make a priest very happy but it would probably cost the Church. I am not convinced by arguments that it would enrich this vocation in any significant manner to offset what would be lost.

Filed under: Anti-Catholicism, Apologetics, Catholic, Celibacy, Discipleship, Marriage, Priests, Religion, Sacraments, Sexuality |

One Response

Paul Brann, on September 28, 2013 at 9:02 am said:

This really troubles you. You write so much about it that it must really trouble you a great deal.

FATHER JOE: Troubled? My posts also celebrate the wonder of the celibate priesthood.

I feel much the same about other issues that you dismiss with contempt, such as girl servers, women readers, communion standing and in the hand, ghastly music and modernisation beyond imagination. I yearn for the old rite as much as you yearn for celibate priests, which I do too.

FATHER JOE: I am not aware of any contempt. Your judgments about me miss the mark. I was very vocal against altar girls when the whole commotion started. But I am not going to hurt girls and women who are permitted to serve and who love the Lord. We have had women readers for a long time and I fail to see how their inclusion has harmed the Church. Men and women alike should lay claim to the Word of God. I am not a fan of communion in the hand and I would prefer the traditional way, on the tongue with communicants on their knees. But I am only a servant and the Eucharist is still the Eucharist. Music is good and bad, but I have never allowed accidentals to get in the way of substance. As for the revised ritual, I think the corrected translation is quite good. All that is essential remains part of the Mass. But I agree with the freedom granted by Pope Benedict XVI. We have many locations in the Archdiocese of Washington where the Tridentine Mass is offered.

But then I yearn for death with a sort of homesickness that is my constant companion – I suffer from mental ill health and a loneliness that not even the Catholic Church can cure. I wonder are you starting out on a path towards enlightenment or is it a certain stubbornness set in a reluctance to change – to move with the times even though the Church was founded on Rock?

I guess that this must be a real struggle for you.
Best wishes, Paul

FATHER JOE: Enlightenment? Huh? I think with the Church and my remarks reflect the current status-quo. This may change, and if it does, I hope to be part of a lively debate. But ultimately, I remain a faithful son of the Church and will live with what the Church decides. You say things that are upsetting and worrying. But you are ever in my prayers.