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In a recent interview, Pope Francis addressed the question of celibacy and the priesthood in the Catholic Church. He said that it’s a discipline that he does not intend to re-examine: “I don’t feel ready to reconsider it yet, but obviously it’s a matter of discipline, which has nothing to do with dogma. Today it’s the case and tomorrow it may no longer be. . . . [A] “time may come when a pope, perhaps, will revisit it.”
That’s a common view: Priestly celibacy is a “discipline,” or an “ecclesial law,” and thus it is not a doctrine that must be preserved forever. It can be repealed.
In his 1967 encyclical Sacerdotalis Caelibatus (On the Celibacy of the Priest), Pope Paul VI stated that priestly celibacy is a “brilliant jewel” that the Church has “guarded for centuries,” and “retains its value undiminished even in our time.” (¶1) Eight times he refers to celibacy as a “discipline” and sixteen times he asserts that it is a “law.”
In its Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, Presbyterorum Ordinis, the Second Vatican Council observed that “celibacy is in harmony with the priesthood,” and, therefore, is to be preserved as a “discipline” and “law” of the Church. (¶16). Although the magisterium has ardently praised priestly celibacy and authoritatively upholds its continuance, I believe that it is more than simply an “ecclesial discipline,” or a “Church law.”
Obviously, it is not necessary that a man be celibate in order to be ordained to the priesthood. In Eastern Orthodoxy, it’s common for priests to be married, though they must be married prior to their ordination. Orthodox priests, however, must refrain from sexual intercourse a day or more before celebrating the liturgy. Eastern Orthodox bishops must be celibate.
Continued below.
That’s a common view: Priestly celibacy is a “discipline,” or an “ecclesial law,” and thus it is not a doctrine that must be preserved forever. It can be repealed.
In his 1967 encyclical Sacerdotalis Caelibatus (On the Celibacy of the Priest), Pope Paul VI stated that priestly celibacy is a “brilliant jewel” that the Church has “guarded for centuries,” and “retains its value undiminished even in our time.” (¶1) Eight times he refers to celibacy as a “discipline” and sixteen times he asserts that it is a “law.”
In its Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, Presbyterorum Ordinis, the Second Vatican Council observed that “celibacy is in harmony with the priesthood,” and, therefore, is to be preserved as a “discipline” and “law” of the Church. (¶16). Although the magisterium has ardently praised priestly celibacy and authoritatively upholds its continuance, I believe that it is more than simply an “ecclesial discipline,” or a “Church law.”
Obviously, it is not necessary that a man be celibate in order to be ordained to the priesthood. In Eastern Orthodoxy, it’s common for priests to be married, though they must be married prior to their ordination. Orthodox priests, however, must refrain from sexual intercourse a day or more before celebrating the liturgy. Eastern Orthodox bishops must be celibate.
Continued below.
Celibacy and the Priesthood - The Catholic Thing
Fr. Thomas Weinandy OFM Cap.: Celibacy is a marvelous gift that the celibate Jesus has given to priests in the Roman Catholic Church.
www.thecatholicthing.org