Celibacy and the Priesthood In These Modern Times

Celibacy and the Priesthood In These Modern Times

The Roman and some of the Orthodox jurisdictions of the Catholic Church is on the verge of a disaster, and there are many, like myself, who believe that the Vatican (Roman jurisdiction) should seriously re-think their stand on mandatory celibacy as a condition for becoming a priest. Far too much attention and juridical problems surrounds the issue of "Celibacy" in both jurisdictions (Roman and Orthodox) have applied episcopal requirements on "celibacy" for one to even become a Bishop.

Almost all of the Roman Catholic diocese in the United States are facing bankruptcy due to mounting accusations of sexual misconduct and child molestation being brought against so many priests.

The Roman Church may have had good intentions when they instituted mandatory celibacy for those in the priesthood, feeling that the priests would be able to devote themselves totally to the service of Jesus Christ, but as is often said, the road to hell is often paved with good intentions. The Church may have also had ulterior motives as regards any personal property (real estate in particular and/or personal wealth) of the priests, which the Church would not be able to acquire if the priest were married and left heirs upon his death.

Perhaps, the Cardinals and the Pope should take a long hard look at the Orthodox Church’s stand on celibacy as regards the priesthood. The Eastern Church has, and always had, both celibate and married priests, the choice being left up to the individual priest. The Orthodox Church has married priests who live in the world, many holding positions in the secular workplace, living much the same way as many Protestant ministers, caring for their wives and children, without having any detrimental effect on their priestly vocation or their service to their congregation.

Then there are the priest/monks who live a celibate monastic life, however, if a candidate for the priesthood wishes to marry, then they must do so prior to being ordained to the deaconate. Once they are ordained a deacon, they can no longer marry. There was a time when only priests from among the priest/monks, could become bishops, archbishops or Patriarchs, however, this was not a hard and fast rule, so that today, many of the hierarchs are married. It would be very interesting to see how many of the Roman Catholic priests would marry, if given the choice.

It was at the insistence of St. Paphnutius the Confessor, a fourth-century Egyptian monk and the Bishop of Thais, that a married priesthood was maintained in both the East and the West. During the persecution of Maximinian, St. Paphnutius had suffered many tortures, including the gouging out of his right eye in 311 A.D. Being a strict virgin himself, he stood against a proposal in favor of a celibate priesthood, and he supported the sanctity of married life, at the First Ecumenical Council in 325 A.D. He could foresee the temptations and difficulties that compulsory celibacy would bring, therefore, he urged the Church to maintain Her traditional rule, that once ordained, an unmarried priest could not enter into marriage, but also, to ordain already married men, provided they met all of the requirements for the priesthood.

Since the unilateral introduction of compulsory celibacy by the Roman Church around the 1070’s, which went against the decisions of the First Ecumenical Council, the Church of Rome has faced many problems and difficulties, among which are:

1. The alienation of women, also, most married priests have a better understanding of family problems then the celibate priest. And the wives of priests often provide much help in parish life. Celibate priests do not have wives to give support. Also, the Western Church now has many women pushing for the Church to ordain them as priestesses.

2. Another problem today is that many of the priests in parts of Italy, Portugal, South America, and Africa are secretly “married”, while their bishops turn a blind eye to the situation.

3. In Northern Europe, statistics show that about 20% of the Roman Catholic priests have wives, mistresses, “housekeepers”, and children.

4. In Germany, many Roman Catholic priests have a tendency to overeat to compensate for the lack of a wife and/or a satisfying sex life. In Ireland, they tend to over drink.

5. In the United States, the focus of the current crisis, it is estimated that 50% of the Roman Catholic priests are practicing homosexuals, but the figure is probably just as high in other parts of the world. Worse still are the number of cases of child sexual molestation.

6. Also, world wide, there is a very serious shortage of priests, so that very often, the priests of the Church of Rome are forced to handle as many as four or five parishes.

7. Then there is the hypocrisy on the part of Rome because of the number of priests kept hidden in the shadows, who belong to the Eastern Rite Roman Catholic Church, who according to the canons of the Eastern Rites, their priests are allowed to marry, but Rome does not allow them outside of the Middle East. Also there are the priests of the Anglican Church who convert to Roman Catholic, and are accepted as full priests in the Roman Church even though they are married, but are often kept hidden away as hospital or prison chaplains, being treated as second-class citizens by the Church.

Wake up, Rome! Wake up read the writing on the wall. The problem will not go away just because you Cardinals, you Princes of the Church choose to bury your collective heads in the sand. On the contrary, the problem will only get worse, and may even lead to the demise of the Roman jurisdiction of the Church. May the Holy Spirit guide you rightly in this matter.

Rev. Fr. +Gregori, SSJt