Married Priests?

The Church has expressed an interest in, and a calling for, opinions in regards to the Church’s current teaching on celibacy as a requirement for men to be ordained as Catholic priests. This issue is currently being deliberated by a special counsel of bishops appointed by Pope Francis. The following is a response to this calling.

It seems as though the Catholic Church has on her own behalf diluted the mandatory celibacy for priests over the years without really changing the requirement of celibacy for ordination. Let’s look first at the exceptions for married priests.

Deaconate:

Most candidates for the deaconate can be married.

The candidate must be married before he is ordained.

The candidate cannot marry after he is ordained.

If for any reason the marriage should cease before the death of the deacon he cannot remarry.

A married man who is ordained a deacon cannot be ordained a priest regardless if he was originally baptized a Catholic.

Presbyterate:

A man can be ordained as a Catholic married priest if he had been ordained as a priest in certain protestant churches before he was baptized in the Catholic Church. (Some exceptions apply)

Episcopacy:

Only men who have not been married may be ordained into the episcopacy. (There is a possibility, in the past, for married bishops)

The above is true only in the Western Church. The Eastern Church, to include the Orthodox Churches, (CCC-1580) has always ordained men who are married, and men may remarry (Orthodox) without losing their good standing in these churches under some circumstances. It would seem on the surface that being baptized into the Catholic Church is a deterrent to many who feel they are called to follow Christ through Holy Orders. A man is a man regardless of the family he is born into, and the Church makes exceptions on the state of a man’s marital status. Although it seems that the exceptions are based almost exclusively on the first baptism of the candidate for Holy Orders.

The Church uses Matthew 19:12, “Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.”, as one of two primary sources for the rule of celibacy for priests. This passage has long been attributed to ordination, but there is no context in the passage to come to this conclusion. The first part of this chapter is titled “Marriage and Divorce”, and when read in this context there is no coalition between celibacy and ordination. The reference in this chapter “for the sake of the kingdom of heaven”, I believe is concerned with works of charity as is commended by Christ for all God’s children. (John 13: 34-35) “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Another validation the Church uses for celibacy is 1 Cor. 7:32, “I should like you to be free of anxieties. An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord.”  Again I urge you keep in context this chapter as a whole. Chapter seven is titled “Advice to the Married”, verse (32) is subtitled “Advice to Virgins and Widows”. I think it is also important to note the words used directly following this subtitle in verse 25, “Now in regard to virgins, I have no commandment from the lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.” The point I am asking you to highlight is “my opinion”.

Further along in this chapter men and women are mentioned in very much the same manner. The equality of men and women in the sinlessness of marriage is without doubt. (1 Cor, 7:36b) But this passage is attributed to marriage not the ordination of men. I believe it is clear that chapter seven in its entirety is only about marriage and Paul’s belief that a person is tempting fate by being married so close the Parousia.

Remember these are not the words of our Christ, but the words of the disciple Paul. Paul was convinced that the Parousia would happen in his time. He felt that it was necessary to limit the temptations of sin so that all could reach salvation. Paul again reminds his audience in verse 40a, “though, in my opinion” that he is not speaking of the commandments of God, but instead he speaks of what he believes is good for the followers of the Lord in their quest for salvation.

It would seem to me that on the surface there is no real sense that Christ cared if his disciples were married or not. Christ was concerned with the matters of the heart, and matters of the heart were displayed through acts of charity. Yes, we believe that Christ lived a life of celibacy; this could simply have been for the “sake of propriety” (1 Cor, 7:35) more so than as an example of the priesthood. I can’t help but think that our Christ finds our deliberations on this issue to be most insignificant in light of the commandments he set forth for us.

I offer the above thoughts for the purpose of deliberation and meditation and they should not be considered an attack on the teachings of the Church. This is obviously just a light overview in the long tradition of celibacy in the Church.

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CCC = Catechism of the Catholic Church

Scripture is from the NABRE

By David E. Gonzales