The history of celibacy in the Church is a long and complicated one, and there is a great deal of controversy about the nature and antiquity of restrictions on the marriage of the clergy. What seems clear is that, from a very early period, celibacy was considered desirable for ministers in the Church. There is even evidence from some points in the Church’s history that when married men did become priests or bishops, they were expected to leave their wives (who would live the single life as nuns or “widows”)! On the other hand, we should also note that in the Catholic Church today, there is a significant number of priests that are married, both in the Eastern Catholic Churches in communion with Rome, and also certain priests who were formerly Protestant ministers and have been granted exceptions from the general discipline of the Latin Church. This makes it clear that clerical celibacy is not required for some dogmatic reason (indeed, bearing in mind the recommendations for appointing a Bishop, ‘the husband of one wife’ in 1 Timothy 3:2, that is clearly ruled out), but rather a practice which the Church asks of her ministers because of the benefits it is seen to bring.
What might these be? Firstly, we might note the value of celibacy as witness. By denying themselves the natural good of marriage, priests bear witness to Jesus’ call to conform our whole lives to him, and, if it is asked of us, to be prepared for his sake to abandon anything else to which we might be attached (cf. Luke 14: 25-33). The celibacy of the clergy highlights the fact that these people consider their faith to have such a place in their lives that they are willing, for its sake, to make the whole significance of what they do with their life depend on that faith.
Traditionally, a symbolic significance has also been seen in the practice of clerics being celibate: a popular image of the Church in the Book of Revelation, and subsequent tradition, is of the bride of Christ. Consequently, Catholics have perceived a significance in the priest, who acts in persona Christi (in the person of Christ) in the celebration of the Eucharist, being “married” to the Church. This reminds us both of the complete self-giving asked of the celibate priest, as of the spouses in a marriage, and also of the love which the priest is called to (and is free to) bestow on the Church, in Jesus Christ her head and in her members.
As well as the symbolism and the witness of celibacy, we must also remember it has a certain practical value. I have been struck several times by stories of Dominican brethren working as chaplains in prisons and hospitals, who have been able to go and make pastoral visits on the great feasts of Easter and Christmas, when inmates and patients feel particularly lonely and isolated: the married chaplains of other Christian denominations quite understandably want to be with their families at these times. Of course, there’s no problem with that: I just find this a good example of how celibacy enables a priest to devote himself wholeheartedly to the people he has been called to serve: as St Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians, ‘the unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord’ (1 Cor 7: 32).
As for the case of a priest wishing to marry after ordination, this is where general principles and particular cases collide. Clearly, it would be silly to ask every Latin priest to promise celibacy, only then, with equal regularity, to dispense that promise for anyone if they later wanted to marry: it would take away the value of the promise in the first place. Besides, tradition in the Churches of East and West from the earliest centuries (and perhaps from Apostolic times) has not allowed the priests or bishops, once already ordained, to marry and continue in their ministry. However, the Church is able to release a priest from the obligations of the promises he made at ordination, both of celibacy and of ministerial service in the Church. If a priest does seek to marry, then, this ‘dispensation’ is often given.
Overall, then, it is certainly legitimate to ask whether priests have to be unmarried, and indeed there are arguments that can be made in favour of allowing certain married men to be ordained (as happens in Eastern Catholic Churches). However, we should not forget the important place of celibacy within the Church not just in particular cases, but as the general practice of the Latin Church, and allow ourselves to consider why it has enjoyed the support of a very long tradition as desirable both for priests themselves and for the Church.
I think your recognition that there is no dogmatic ground for celibacy is important. I'm not, I hasten to add, suggesting that the principle should be abandoned - or even modified - but I think it is valuable to accept that it is not an inherent requirement of priest life.
ReplyDeleteThis is very balanced and well argued, thanks. I do think deep thought needs to be given to whether there is a need for all priests to take promises of celibacy. But, you are right to point out that the freedom of a single life has enabled many clergy to minister in ways they otherwise never have been able to. It is a difficult topic which you need to be brave to address.
ReplyDeleteThere is also the wife to consider! Could the local parish support a wife and family? What would happen if the priest died? Where would the widow live, and could the parish support all these extra people? There are quite a few purely practical obstacles.
ReplyDeleteI think of priestly celibacy as a particularily close way of following Jesus - to be his close disciple, like the apostles, like a new apostle. It's particularily close because it frees you to spend more time with him and because it's a following that entails Jesus' celibate way of life.
ReplyDeleteI was brought up to believe all that was said by the previous comments. Then I met the local Anglican vicar who was married with three children and saw to my amazement that being married was not a hindrance, but rather a help when reaching out into the community. The vicar had the support of his wife and I often felt sorry for our Catholic priest who did not have such support. Of course we did all we could to help him in every way but I thought that if only he had the sympathetic ear of someone he could unburden his problems he would have coped so much better. I think that the Catholic Church will have to allow married priest eventually if only because there will be a crisis point. There are so few young men coming forward for ordination. Also in the Anglican Church there are several mature applicants to the priesthood, people who are maybe retired or have given up their jobs.
ReplyDeleteThen the question of women priests will have to be addressed. I know of some really wonderful women priests in the Anglican Church. But we Catholics will have to wait!! Probably it will not happen in my lifetime.
A few points:
ReplyDelete1. Christianity needs to cut the 'marriage is only around for prevention of fornication and is a burden and obligation' framework and move back towards the Jewish mindset of it being a bracha and a joy. You can say whatever you like about it being a sacrament, but the contempt poured on it by those who think married men aren't 'quite good enough b/c they should be priests' (fuelled by the imposition of celibacy) is...unsettling. You can talk about 'family values', but the truth is, if you want to know what an institution REALLY values, look at the people 'in power'. In the Catholic Church, it's celibate men. All we hear about is how a family hinders a priest: has it actually ever occurred to anyone that having a family can be a source of strength, not a distraction, to a priest?
2. I'm not sure how one claims a God who lives in a relationship of ultimate love, including the vulnerability that love brings, and then creates a priesthood that is denied deep relationship, coming to despise/disdain it or at best, is only capable of intellectualising about it.
It is through relationship that we grow most. Argue all you like about 'living in community', but I will show you example after example of communities who didn't want to know when their members were depressed, in trouble, unhappy. Cleric after cleric or nun after nun who would turn away when one of their own wanted to talk about something real. Basically, 'Yes, you're my brother/sister in Christ, but don't talk to me if it's difficult, b/c I don't do real relationship - with God, myself or anyone else'. And being a priest is all about relationship and going to those difficult places.
3. Which leads us to point 3. Mandatory celibacy draws in seriously disproportionate numbers of the emotionally dysfunctional - boys who are running away from issues ranging from sexuality ('I'm gay, how do I tell my Catholic family this?'/'Being close to someone scares me') to difficulty in dealing with the world. The religious life/priesthood offers years of being able to stay a student, someone else to pay your bills, a uniform that offers you respect you might not get otherwise and plenty of opportunity to get involved with men or women, as your sexual preference dictates, without really committing yourself emotionally. Ideal for the puer eternis and those who would rather hide from their problems than deal with them.
4. I also find it very odd that an institution insists on being all male, yet incessantly mocks masculinity at the same time. Most of my guy friends - strong, responsible, very male - would feel deeply uncomfortable in a Catholic church. And that's just plain wrong. Allowing married men to be priests might broaden the range of men in the hierarchy, allowing more men to be at ease in Catholicism.
Allowing for married priests isn't a panacea, but it will bring in many more of the men we NEED - empathetic, thoughtful, able to change, able to be vulnerable and in deep relationship -even if they don't always succeed - emotionally present, responsible, unafraid of women, robust, practical, able to face problems head on instead of pretending they don't exist - in other words, genuinely *male*, without being macho. And THAT will be a move in the right direction.
My best friend is a vicar's wife of 9 years. They have 3 children under 7years of age and she feels as though she lives in a goldfish bowl. She has no friends within her parish because as a vicar's wife she is always on show and people treat her as curiousity rather than what she is, a (fairly) young mother. She only relaxes when she is with old friends from university or family. She says that they rarely get an uninterrupted family evening and this is beginning to be a real issue between her and her husband. He is increasingly torn between his duty to his parishoners and the need to be a husband and father, and she is beginning to resent this, then feels guilty because "she knew what she was letting herself in for."
ReplyDeleteAdd to this the tendency of some parishoners to walk into the house and comment in the most intrusive way about the family's private living space, and you have a situation which makes it very difficult for both parties.
Yes, I think married parish priests would certainly enrich the ministry, but don't for one minute think that they will be a cure-all solution. Having a married priesthood will cause as many problems as it would solve- imagine the parish priest dating a parishoner and then dumping her, for example!
Irim- lots of married people turn away and do not support each other through crises. You don't need to be celibate to be afraid of closeness or to be emotionally inadequate. And yes, I'm sure there must be plenty of happily married vicars, but the male hierarchy still dominates in the Anglican church. In any case I don't think that the role of a catholic priest is precisely the same as a vicar.
ReplyDeleteI'm more inclined to see priestly celibacy as the best possible solution in an imperfect world. That's not to say that it doesn't cause genuine suffering in some cases, or that some men could combine the two vocations successfully. I think the vocation of the woman to be married to her husband, to be a mother and to minister to her local parish is harder than we might think. The woman would have to be pretty special to live 3 vocations, her own and her husbands. Some could do it.
Having read the last 2 comments i've come to realise it's not just a question of male celibacy but also a very practical problem. I had never even thought of the impact on the wives and families.
ReplyDeleteWhat a culture shock to see our priests at a nightclub looking for a girlfriend.
The whole issue is much more complicated that I thought.