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Posted on 10/07/2005 2:27:14 PM PDT by NYer
- H. Em. Card. Nasrallah Pierre SFEIR, Patriarch of Antiochia of the Maronites, Head of the Synod of the Maronite Church (LEBANON)
1. I refer to the relatio ante disceptationem, chapter a2 entitled the tested men, where there is a question about the celibacy of Catholic priests. The text says: “To overcome the lack of priests, some, guided by the principle of salus animarum suprema lex, advance the request for the ordination of married faithful, of proven faith and virtue”, rather than leaving the parishes without any priestly service.
1. There is a problem there that nobody ignores. We should reflect on it seriously. In the Maronite Church, we allow married priests. Half of our diocesan priests are married. However, we must admit that the marriage of priests, even if resolving one problem, also creates other serious problems. A married priest has the duty of taking care of his wife and children, to ensure their education, to secure for them a certain social standing. The priesthood was also a means of social promotion in Lebanon.
Another problem arises for a married priest, that of not having misunderstandings with the parishioners. Despite this, it can be the case that the Bishop cannot transfer him, due to the impossibility of his family to move with him. Despite all this, these married priests have preserved the faith of the people with whom they have shared a hard life. Without them, this faith would have disappeared.
3. On the other hand, Celibacy is the most precious gem in the treasure of the Catholic Church. But how to maintain it in an eroticized environment: Newspapers, Internet, posters, everything displayed without shame, wounding the virtue of chastity. It is obvious that once ordained, a priest can no longer marry. To send priests, either to a country in need of them, or to a country having many of them, is not an ideal solution, if we take into consideration traditions, habits and mentalities.
The problem has been stated. One must pray to the Holy Spirit that he may suggest to his Church the means to find an adequate solution.
To embellish His Eminence's presentation, in the Maronite Church, only celibate priests are assigned outside of Lebanon. As my Maronite pastor pointed out, the biggest problem in the West is the lack of reverence for the Sacrament of Matrimony, resulting in large scale divorce. This is less of a problem in the East.
To embellish His Eminence's presentation, in the Maronite Church, only celibate priests are assigned outside of Lebanon. As my Maronite pastor pointed out, the biggest problem in the West is the lack of reverence for the Sacrament of Matrimony, resulting in large scale divorce. This is less of a problem in the East.
If not a 4th! :-)
According to my Maronite pastor, it is not unusual for parishioners at churches in Lebanon with married clergy, to scrutinize anything new the wife might be wearing, or the children and ponder to what extent their 'donations' paid for it.
The other problem is here in the West. The Eastern christians still take the vow of Matrimony seriously. That is no longer the case here. If we in the West can barely support our celibate clergy, how would we finance those who are married? And what if the marriage fails?
As he explained it, the shift from celibate to married clergy entails a lengthy period of preparation. This is not an overnight decision. Personally, I would be most curious to read financial reports from those Catholic parishes that now support converted, married priests from the Protestant denominations.
A question for you, NYer. It appears to me that on a per capita basis, eastern Catholics in the U.S. have many more priests than our RCC counterparts.
Am I missing something, or is the "priest shortage" being felt more in the western church?
"The other problem is here in the West. The Eastern christians still take the vow of Matrimony seriously. That is no longer the case here. If we in the West can barely support our celibate clergy, how would we finance those who are married? And what if the marriage fails?"
I think we could look at how the Orthodox in the U.S. are doing as well.
On a related note, just thinking out of the box a bit, perhaps one way to partly address a couple of problems/concerns is to work on expanding the number of bi-rite eastern priests. A couple of eastern Catholic churches are ordaining married men in the U.S. The major limiting factor for them is economics. The RCC is lacking priests.
Perhaps a uniquely Catholic form of lend-lease is called for? :-)
I guess they could all just read the Bible where it says that preachers are all married (1 Timothy 3), and the part where Paul says forbidding to marry is a doctrine of demons. Then this discussion would be over for the RCC, Maronites, etc...
I guess they could all just read the Bible where it says that preachers are all married (1 Timothy 3), and the part where Paul says forbidding to marry is a doctrine of demons. Then this discussion would be over for the RCC, Maronites, etc...
crap my computer betrays me
These are very good points that are not often considered in all the hand-wringing over Latin Rite celibacy.
According to your 'interpretation' of the Bible, Christ, who was celibate, practiced a "doctrine of demons".
Matt. 19:11-12 - Jesus says celibacy is a gift from God and whoever can bear it should bear it. Jesus praises and recommends celibacy for full-time ministers in the Church. Because celibacy is a gift from God, those who criticize the Church's practice of celibacy are criticizing God and this wonderful gift He bestows on His chosen ones.
1 Cor. 7:7 - Paul also acknowledges that celibacy is a gift from God and wishes that all were celibate like he is.
1 Cor. 7:27 – Paul teaches men that they should not seek marriage. In Paul’s opinion, marriage introduces worldly temptations that can interfere with one’s relationship with God, specifically regarding those who will become full-time ministers in the Church.
1 Cor. 7:32-33, 38 - Paul recommends celibacy for full-time ministers in the Church so that they are able to focus entirely upon God and building up His kingdom. He “who refrains from marriage will do better.”
Why was Peter married? And most of the disciples?
There is one 'small' miscalculation in your formula. The Eastern churches have small denominations. So, yes, there are more Eastern Catholic priests but serving smaller, and sometimes shrinking, congregations. God willing, the good news of these very devout prelates who preach catholic orthodoxy will begin to spread and we will witness a much needed shift in the popoulations.
Peter was married .... BEFORE .... he was chosen by Christ. As to the others, most of them were NOT married.
1 Cor 7:1 – Paul teaches that it is well for a man not to touch a woman. This is the choice that the Catholic priests of the Roman rite freely make.
Prove they weren't married. Furthermore, most of the ministers I see that have REAL FRUIT for Christ, are married.
I have cited 5 instances from Scripture in support of celibacy. Match them!
Where is clerical celibacy in the Bible?
Biblical evidence for the discipline of celibacy can be found in both the Old and the New Testaments. In the Old, Jeremiah was forbidden by God to take a wife in order to enable him to fulfill his ministry better. "The word of the Lord came to me: 'You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place'" (Jer. 16:1-2).
Also in the Old Testament, God asked even married couples to practice celibacy on certain occasions. For example, Moses asked the Israelites to abstain from marital intimacy while he ascended Mount Sinai (Ex. 20:15), and Jewish tradition attests that he remained celibate for life following the command of Exodus 9:15 and Deuteronomy 5:28. The Lord also asked that the priests refrain from sexual relations with their wives during their time of service in the temple. In yet another example, the priests ordered King David and his people to abstain from marital relations on the occasion of eating the holy bread (1 Sam. 21:4).
In all these instances, there is a theme of abstaining from marital relations due to the presence of something very holy. It is not that the marital act is sinful, but that when one is in such proximity to God, it is right to offer him an undivided mind, heart, and body. If it was fitting under the Old Covenant to serve the temple, to approach God, and receive the holy bread with a consecrated body, it is no surprise that permanent celibacy is fitting for a Roman Catholic priest, since his priestly service is continual.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus states, "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" (19:12 NAB). This is an invitation from Christ to live as he did, and there can be nothing unacceptable in that.
Paul recognized the wisdom in this, and encouraged celibacy in order to free a man to be anxious about the things of the Lord and to serve him undividedly (1 Cor 7:8,32-35). In his words, "To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain single as I do. . . . I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman or girl is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. . . . he who marries his betrothed does well; and he who refrains from marriage will do better" (1 Cor. 7:8, 32-35, 38).
Furthermore, most of the ministers I see that have REAL FRUIT for Christ, are married.
Name them.
Just a friendly amendment: one ought to distinguish between continence and celibacy. Married people were asked by God in the examples you cited to practice continence on certain occasions; married priests in the early Church were expected to be continent but not celibate because they were married and thus could not be celibate. "Chastity" is not a substitute here because engaging in marital relations is itself a chaste act for married people (unless done out of pure lust, which would be unchaste, or done in any way that turns the partner[s] into mere objects of gratification--that would be unchaste). The point is that chastity can apply both to the continent, celibate, and married but what constitutes chastity varies depending on whether one is celibate or married lay person or married priest).
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