Posted on 12/19/2005 7:17:29 PM PST by markomalley
Church silent on bishop’s marriage comments By Caroline O’Doherty and Michael Brennan
THE Catholic Church was staying silent last night on comments from one of its bishops that priests should be allowed to marry.
Bishop of Killaloe Willie Walsh voiced his opinion which is in direct conflict with the Vatican in a newspaper interview in which he said celibacy was meaningless if it had a negative impact on priests and the church they served.
"I have known some very fine priests who have left the priesthood because they found the challenge of celibacy not life-giving for them. Men like that are a great loss to the ministerial priesthood," he told the Sunday Tribune.
"Unless in some way celibacy is a generous gift to others and to God, it is meaningless. If we see celibacy simply as abstaining from sexual intimacy, then it is negative, not life-giving."
Bishop Walsh said for some priests, celibacy was a gift that allowed them to give more generously to their vocation but others found the loneliness and isolation too much to bear.
He said the priesthood should be open to both married and celibate priests and urged a full debate within the Church on what he described as a "very serious question".
It is not clear if he will face sanction from the hierarchy in Ireland or Rome.
Staff of the Catholic Communications Office did not return calls yesterday and there has been no public response.
Speaking from his residence in Ennis, Co Clare last night, Bishop Walsh would not say whether he had been contacted by any member of the hierarchy or had received any official reaction.
He confirmed that his views were accurately reflected in the interview although he was concerned at the headline, which he felt suggested he believed all priests should marry.
Bishop Walsh is regarded as one of the more liberal clerics in Ireland and his views have often stirred controversy, though he has not previously challenged Church teachings directly.
Galway-based Redemptorist priest Fr Tony Flannery, who has also been outspoken on the issue of celibacy in the priesthood, backed Bishop Walsh's decision to speak out.
He said the bishop would not fear sanction from his superiors as he had never displayed any interest in the careerism that had forced other clerics to stay silent.
"One of the great strengths of Bishop Walsh is the fact that he has never sought power in the church," Fr Flannery said.
"He has that sense of closeness with his people. He's very much in touch with them because he listens to them and then he has the courage to be the spokesperson to talk out without fear or favour."
I guess St Paul didn't say "It's better to marry than it is to burn (with sexual passion)."
I would contend that the priest that complains about the celibacy rule is getting it pretty regular and wants some legitimacy and freedom from the guilt of his sins.
Anybody takin' bets on who's gonna be the next bishop of Bouvet Island (or somewhere equally remote), at Benny^16's pleasure?
I don't see the big deal. It's boring, but clerical celibacy is not a dogma with which a Catholic, even a Bishop, may not have personal disagreement, as long as he's complying with the rules as they stand. And he's right that simply refraining from marriage, unless it's with an evangelical purpose, is simply a matter of prudence or chance.
But it's still boring.
* I wonder which Nun he has his eye on?
Celibacy was revered from the early days of the Church. As can be seen by Paul's example, if you want to give 100% to the Lord, it is best not to be emcumbered by a wife. But apart from the practical side, if we are to listen to Paul, we must always lives as though the Lord were coming tomorrow. If he were to establish a physical kingdom, he certainly would have left us heirs as David did. He did not. Unlike the Jews of the time, Christians never put great stock in family. That is why the passage in Mark where he choose his spiritual family over his physical one was meant to distance the Christian from the ordinary Judaic view.
The New Testament Priethood of the ordained offer the Sacrifice Daily. Ergo, perpetual continence/chastity in imitation of Jesus
Yeah, maybe sixteen priests out there can be perpetually chaste. Silly rules made by silly men.
First, I didn't supply all of the verse because it wasn't necessary to. Of course anyone familiar with the Bible knows that Paul believed it was better to be celibate, but even he knew he was different than most men. He was beaten, stoned, whipped, imprisoned, left for dead on more than one occasion, and ultimately martyred. Maybe all our priests should imitate Christ and Paul in this manner. If they can't put up with a little scourging, then they shouldn't be priests.< / sarc >
Besides St Paul, how many men do you know who are celibate?
I suppose Paul and Peter never told husbands to submit to their wives and wives to submit to their husbands and fathers to be kind to children. The Bible is a great manual for living life with others, including family....
It is clear to me you are neither conversant with Ecclesiastical History or, generally, the history of Christianity and its Doctrines and orthopraxis.
Do yourself a favor and go to out www.newadvent.com and check out the writings of the early church fathers.
Have a productive Advent and a Blessed Christmas, brother
Didn't Christ come and overturn the established order the way he overturned the tables of the moneylenders outside the temple?
I'll ask for you to do yourself a favor and scrap Ecclesiastical History, Doctrines, and Orthopraxis for the words of Christ themselves as recorded in 4 Gospels and through the works of Paul.
Neither the People of the Way of the 1st century nor Christ Himself would recognize the bloated hierarchical mess that purports itself to be the true Church....
Final thought-- being born a catholic is a cultural distinction. The nation of Christ, however, is made up of those who step outside their cultural backgrounds and are second born as children of the Living God.
I'm sure you know this, and I've no doubt that you're a committed Christian. But at a certain point those who proclaim Christ as the central authority of their lives need to let go of "Ecclesiastical History"
and begin listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
For the believer, every day is now advent. Good luck.
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