For
years, people, both inside and outside the Church have called for the Church to
lift Her ancient practice of priestly celibacy. This cry gained support with
the drop in the number of vocations to the priesthood following the Second
Vatican Council and was reenergized by the despicable heterosexual, homosexual
and pedophilia abuses by some of the Church’s priests. The Roman Catholic
Church’s discipline of celibacy for Her priests has been a common practice from
the 4th century and has been solemnly sanctioned since the second
Lateren Council in 1139, which not only forbade priests to marry but also
declared all marriages of priests at the moment null and void.
Priestly celibacy is just that, a
discipline, not a requirement for Holy Orders. While celibacy is not a necessity
to be ordained, this discipline is for the greater good of the Church and Her ministers.
By understanding the Christological, Ecclesiological, Pastoral, and Eschatological
effects of priestly celibacy, the beauty of the Church’s discipline shines through
clearly.
Before one can come to see the
beauty of a celibate priesthood, one must have a clear understanding of what
celibacy is. In his article Celibacy is
the issue, Thomas Lederer defines celibacy as “A freely chosen dynamic
state, visibly vowed, that involves an honest
and sustained attempt to live without direct sexual gratification in order to
serve others productively for a spiritual motive.”[1]
This choice of the priest is a freely chosen life of sacrifice for Christ and
His Church; following the teachings of Christ “No one has greater love than
this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.”[2]
This laying down of his life by the priest is a lifelong lifestyle choice,
which must be assed not only on the human, sexual level, but most of all as a work
of grace in response to the Divine initiative.
It was Christ himself who encouraged
those who could, to take on the celibate state. “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."[3]
The priest should desire an intimate relationship with Christ, an intimacy he
wishes to share only with Christ for the sake of the kingdom of heaven and with
no one else.
The vow of celibacy unites the priest
more closely to Christ. It calls for a complete abandonment of one’s life to
Him. Just as the married man signifies a love without reservation to his
spouse, so too does celibacy signify a love of Christ without reservation. This
love of Christ and his Church is so great that the priest is actually betrothed
to Her in an exclusive bond.
The priest is called to model his life
after Christ who is the Great High Priest. No priest has a priesthood of his own;
rather he shares in the priesthood of Jesus Christ. Christ did not act as a
priest simply at certain functions, but rather His whole life was dedicated to
His Father as a priest. Christ himself lived a celibate life, which signified
his total dedication to God and His people. In the same state of celibacy the
priest is called to live a life of complete dedication to God and his people.
By living a celibate life, the priest demonstrates his trust, that Christ alone
is sufficient and he places his entire trust in Him.
This complete love of Christ is a
charity which is open to all people. The priest demonstrates this charity to
his people, to whom he is called to be an Alter Christus, another Christ. His
total offering of himself to Christ gives the priest complete liberty to live
his life as a life of service, to be a man for others. It is the calling of all
priests to live the motto of the late Pope John Paul II, Totus Tuus, totally
yours.
The priest is to be seen as an image of
Christ. Christ Himself loved the Church so much that He offered Himself up for
Her. In a similar way the priest offers himself up completely for the Church.
The role of the priest is to be a mediator
between God and man. His primary role is to offer sacrifice to God for his
people. The priest belongs exclusively to Christ. It is the priest who shares
Christ with us enabling us to share Him with others. The priest gives up his
life and joyfully embraces celibacy out of this sacrificial love. Through the
gift of celibacy the priest becomes a man for others.
St. Paul himself notes the freedom
celibacy brings. “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. But a married man is anxious
about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and he is divided.”[4]
The sharing in celibacy frees the minster from the bonds of flesh and blood. He
has no children or famial responsibilities. He renounces the fatherhood proper
to the married life seeking fatherhood, the fatherhood of Christ’s children.
Celibacy enables the priest to serve, his children, Gods people, with a love
that is undefiled and undistracted. This permits him to spend himself fully for
others, which guarantees him a greater freedom and flexibility in his pastoral
ministry.
This explanation of celibacy leads one
to look towards the eschaton, the end times. In a world today that so often
only looks at the present moment the example of the celibate priest forces
people to consider the eschaton. Society today is fascinated with priestly
celibacy. By foregoing much of this world’s expression of love, he makes a
testimony that love does not cease at the end of our life on this earth, but
rather a greater love is yet to come. Furthermore by consecrating his life to
celibacy for Christ’s sake, the priest makes a very bold statement. He claims
he believes in the Faith of the Catholic Church. By living this counter – cultural
lifestyle the priest is a walking reminder of life after this world.
Priestly celibacy should not be seen as
simply a job requirement to be a priest. Celibacy is in itself a vocation. God
calls both men and women to a celibate life. The call to celibacy does not necessarily
mean God is calling a person to the priesthood, however those whom God calls to
the priesthood he also gives the vocation of celibacy.
Holy Orders is not a right. For those
whom God does not give the vocation to celibacy, they should not present
themselves for Holy Orders. The Church does not impose this charism on any one;
rather She invites those who are called to share in it. A candidate for Holy
Orders makes his commitment to priestly celibacy at his Deaconate Ordination.
The bishop asks the candidate, “In the presence of God and the Church, are you
resolved, as a sign of your interior dedication to Christ to remain celibate
for the sake of the kingdom and in lifelong service to God and mankind?”[5]
The Church does not force men to be priests; She invites them to enter into the
ministerial priesthood of their own free choice.
The beauty of celibacy does not pull a
cloud over the beauty of the married conjugal act. Celibacy is not a denial of
sexuality. Both celibacy and marital sex when moderated by chastity are good
and beautiful lifestyles. Those who argue that there is no beauty or that the
counter – cultural lifestyle of priestly celibacy is out of date, clearly do
not understand the Church’s teaching on celibacy. By understanding the
Christological, Ecclesiogical, Pastoral, and Eschatological effects of priestly
celibacy as pointed out above, those critics of priestly celibacy can come to
see clearly the reason for priestly celibacy and the good it brings about, not
only for the priest, but for Christ’s Church.
[1]
Lederer, Thomas. Celibacy is the Issue.
On line resources, http://www.arthurstreet.com/
25 th May2003
[4]
1Cor 7:32 - 34
[5] Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II. "Rite of
Deaconate Ordination." In The Rites of the Catholic Church, 30 -31.
Collegeville: Pueblo Books, 1991.
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