Posted on 10/22/2005 2:50:19 PM PDT by NYer
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A synod of Roman Catholic bishops on Saturday clearly reaffirmed priestly celibacy and ruled out allowing clergy to marry as a solution to the crisis of vocations facing the Church worldwide.
The working sessions of the three-week synod, the first of Pope Benedict's papacy, closed with 50 propositions and a message to the world from the more than 250 bishops.
Overall, the synod's decisions have dashed the hopes of some liberal Catholics for movement on issues such as married priests, celibacy and the divorced faithful.
The message acknowledged that "the life of our Church is also marked by shadows and problems which we have not ignored".
It said "the lack of priests to celebrate the Sunday Eucharist worries us a great deal and invites us to pray and more actively promote vocations".
The synod theme was the Eucharist, the communion that Catholics believe is the body and blood of Christ. The Pope may use the recommendations for a possible future document.
The shortage of priests to serve the 1.1 billion-member Church was perhaps the key issue in the synod, which closes ceremonially with a papal mass on Sunday in St Peter's Square.
One bishop from Honduras drove the point home by saying he had only one priest for every 16,000 Catholics in his diocese.
Some Catholics suggested their Church ordain "viri probati", the Latin term for older, married men with families who are known to lead exemplary personal lives in their communities and have a solid background in Church doctrine.
Liberal groups have suggested that the long-term solution to the shortage was making celibacy optional for new priests by allowing them to marry.
"PRICELESS GIFT"
But the proposition dedicated to the shortage of priests called celibacy a "priceless gift" and the possibility of "viri probati" was dismissed.
Australian Cardinal George Pell told a news conference the unity the synod showed on such delicate issues was significant.
"If you restate the central doctrinal positions of the church with a massive unanimity on the nature of the Eucharist, that's something. And if you reaffirm a particular discipline, or two or three disciplines, that's also something," he said.
Both the message and the propositions mentioned the problems of millions of Catholics who have divorced and remarried outside the Church without being granted an annulment.
Since the Church still recognizes their first marriage, they are banned from receiving communion because they are considered to be living in sin.
During the synod, Archbishop John Atcherly Dew of New Zealand challenged the Church to re-think the rules.
The message merely said the bishops "know the sadness of those who do not have access to sacramental communion because of their family situation" but reaffirmed the existing ban.
The proposition on the divorced appeared to offer one small window of hope when it said Church tribunals which decide on whether to grant annulments should make "every possible effort" to work in a more "correct and speedy" way.
Really? Where does it say in the Scripture that celibacy is required?
Well, Petrosius, I am glad you took the time to quote the Scripture. Celibacy is not required by the Bible. Therefore it is a self-imposed discipline. I respect that, just as I respect the same discipline imposed in the monastic orders -- those who have emptied themselves to such a degree that worldly and physical needs mean nothing to them, celibacy is a natural process in theosis. I just don't think an average parish priest is on that level, but I respect and welcome the Latin discipline as something both the Latin and Greek traditions consider spiritually higher.
In that sense, +Benedict XVI is right on the button -- he is prepared to have a smaller Church, if need be, but not a "Protestant" organization that follows trends. Again, numbers are immaterial in this case (also no pun intended).
"Your answer is well received. I just don't think "numbers" per say really mean that much to the Church."
Thanks and I agree. Ultimately, I don't think it's going to be great numbers finding "the way" in any case.
Pope Benedict XVI, or Western Patriarch Benedict XVI if you prefer, expects smaller Catholic churches. And I think he recognizes that diluting the faith is not the path to take. Having been the head of CDF for 20 + years, he more than most anyone has a pretty good idea of what the true status of things are in the Catholic churches. And I think that worldview colors his actions a great deal.
(I also think that goes a long way to explain his enthusiasm for greater collaboration or unity with the Orthodox churches.)
Really? Where does it say in the Scripture that celibacy is required?
This isn't dodge ball. Try and maintain one consistent position on a topic. First you say celibacy isn't Scriptural, then you want to know where Scripture says that the discipline is required. Being a waffle isn't a character trait that should be displayed in public. The Latin Rite has chosen the higher calling of the discipline of celibacy for its Priesthood. Just as Christ did. The choice is made with free will. If you reject the teachings of the Church in general and this discipline in particular then you can exercise your free will and go somewhere else, just as those who abandoned Christ and His teaching on the Eucharist did in John 6.
"For there are eunuchs, who were born so from their mothers womb: and there are eunuchs, who were made so by men: and there are eunuchs, who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven. He that can take, let him take it." Matthew 19:12
"Then Peter answering, said to him: Behold we have left all things, and have followed thee: what therefore shall we have? And Jesus said to them: Amen I say to you, that you who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the seat of his majesty, you also shall sit on twelve seats judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting. And many that are first, shall be last: and the last shall be first." Matthew 19:27-30
"And Peter began to say unto him: Behold, we have left all things and have followed thee. Jesus answering said: Amen I say to you, there is no man who hath left house or brethren or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, Who shall not receive an hundred times as much, now in this time: houses and brethren and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions: and in the world to come life everlasting. But many that are first shall be last: and the last, first." Mark 10:28-31
"Then Peter said: Behold, we have left all things and have followed thee. Who said to them: Amen, I say to you, there is no man that hath left home or parents or brethren or wife or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, Who shall not receive much more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting." Luke 18:28-30
"But I would have you to be without solicitude. He that is without a wife is solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord: how he may please God. But he that is with a wife is solicitous for the things of the world: how he may please his wife. And he is divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin thinketh on the things of the Lord: that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she that is married thinketh on the things of the world: how she may please her husband. And this I speak for your profit, not to cast a snare upon you, but for that which is decent and which may give you power to attend upon the Lord, without impediment." 1 Corinthians 7:32-35
The question you should be asking is why so few men, particularly those who claim to be "Bible believers", considering the praise and encouragement given to the discipline of celibacy in Scripture by Christ, St. Paul, et al choose and/or reject said discipline.
It's not a waffle, my friend. You obviously objected to my statement that celibacy is a freely elected discipline and not mandated by the Scripture, so I merely asked you to show where it was.
As for the calling, the monastic life of East and West Christendom chooses celibacy as higher and purer life style -- that choice, however, is not so much a choice as much as it is a conversion, when worldly passions subside as one dies unto himself. The more spiritual one becomes the more celibate he will be.
I respect the Latin tradition of imposing a mandatory celibacy on all its clergy. It is a discipline of the Church, as is the married clergy of the East. It's all one Church.
As for "Bible belivers," I have made it very clear that anything other than the Apostolic Church is not a church by definition of authority, so no need to delve into their "understanding" of any tradition.
Your first mistake "Celibacy in the Latin Church is a long-standing, self-imposed human discipline, nothing else. It is not Scriptural." then you tried to massage that gaffe by asking "Where does it say in the Scripture that celibacy is required?"
As you have previously stated "No need to sugarcoat the truth." pal. You screwed up. Admit it.
I really have nothing more to say to you.
And I have proven that you are wrong.
Celibacy in the Latin Church is a long-standing, self-imposed human discipline, nothing else. It is not Scriptural.
It appears that comprehending what you actually write is your Achilles heel.
I really have nothing more to say to you.
Are you a masochist or just very dense?
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