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"Why can’t priests marry?"

Why didn't Simon-Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James the less, Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot, and Matthias get married?

Because they had a job to do. Their mission was to spread the Gospel, encourage fellow Christians, and set the example for purity.

In so doing, they led lives in total devotion to God.

I expect the precise same from the priests at my church.

I expect to hear the Gospel, be encouraged, and see the example for purity at all times.

Jesus commanded the Apostles to lead extremely modest lives, taking with them simple clothes and sandals. Today, Priests carry on these traditions with simple dress and lifestyles. Priests are also expected to have very humble financial conditions. A marriage would be detrimental to that.

Married priests would have less time to devote to fellow Christians in need (they would often have to choose between God's needs and the wife's needs).

ABC NEWS

Married Priests May Be Test for Catholic Church

Two Catholic Priests, One Married and One Celibate, Weigh In on Marriage Question

April 18, 2005 — The Rev. Richard Bradford is a Catholic priest at the St. Theresa of Avila parish outside Boston.

He's also a husband and father of three.

Bradford was first a priest in the Episcopal Church, which allows clergy to be married. He converted, and under a special dispensation, was ordained a Catholic priest in 1998.

Around the country, there are about 100 married Catholic priests. Most, like Bradford, are former Protestants disenchanted with their church's views on women and gays.

These men represent a crucial experiment for the Catholic Church.

"I think that the church is looking to see how we do," Bradford said. "I think it probably makes sense to see how we measure up."

Among the issues facing the church worldwide is a severe shortage of priests. Some Catholics believe that the problem could be solved if doctrine were changed to allow priests to marry. Others strongly disagree, and the question has triggered an intense debate on the value of celibacy.

Many in the church want to make celibacy optional for the clergy, arguing such a move would increase the number of priests and give them a better understanding of family life.

But Bradford says his marriage has a mixed impact on his vocation.

"To some extent it limits it, because I am a married man with family and home responsibilities, and so I'm limited in how much time I can be available," he said.

The Rev. Michael Sliney, who teaches in northern Virginia, is like a growing number of younger priests — more conservative than their elders, and generally happy with the rule of priestly celibacy, though he admits it is not always easy.

"Christ completely fills my heart. I don't feel frustrated, I don't feel like I'm lacking," Sliney said.

But he added, "It is a sacrifice, I can't deny that. I'm still attracted to women. I'm a normal guy, and it's hard in this culture."

But for Sliney — and for many priests — the vow of celibacy enhances their ministry. When a young parishioner recently asked Sliney why priests aren't allowed to marry, Sliney said his celibacy is something that helps separate his devotion to the faith from other people's.

"We're able to completely and totally commit ourselves, our souls, to Christ and to the church," Sliney said. "We have one heart, and that heart is difficult to divide with many loves."

I don't think your 'because they had a job to do' hold water.

If you read the writings of the Holy fathers Celibacy is both a gift and a calling. A gift to not have to deal with the struggle and tempatations and responsibilities of marriage and a calling to forget the joys of marriage for a greater dedication of self to God.

This is not a functionalist situation. This isn't for reasons of mere practicality. It isn't because of a lack of time, or tough decisions. It is a mystery of the Holy Spirit, a chosen obligation and a gift.

(This is also why in the Apostolic Church this was never manditory or compulsory for clergy, even while Bishops were mostly taken from the clergy who were called to this)

Why didn't Simon-Peter...Philip...get married?

It's often pointed out that Simon had a mother-in-law. Presumably, that was because he had a wife. In non-canonical writings, it is stated that Philip had four daughters, it could be presumed that he also had a wife. So, that might not be considered a clear example.

The writer states correctly that it is a matter of discipline not doctrine.

In my mind, the question then becomes one of authority. The Church has a set of practical reasons for imposing this discipline. The protest, to me, seems rooted in a failure to understand, or a refusal to acknowledge, the authority of the bishops to impose this discipline. No one ever says the practical considerations are unreasonable.

We have all sorts of lesser disciplines that could more easily be tossed aside. Perhaps I should decide for myself whether or not I am in the mood for a Eucharistic fast today. The world would certainly tell me it is not necessary. Just a bunch of old coots randomly exerting power over the gullible.

Unless, of course, they really are who they claim to be.

Then they are my servants and their reasons are based on a concern for my well-being.

As a Protestant catholic* Christian reading this article and thread, I find it significant that no one mentions the advice, actually the commands, of the most effective celibate leader in the Church of all time: The Apostle Paul.

Not once is it recorded that Jesus Himself required celibacy for Church leaders... and we know from the holy scriptures a few of the Apostles were indeed married (yes including Peter...proof in the writing of Saint Paul some 20 years after the resurrection: "Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas?" (I Cor. 9:4)

Is celibacy more practical for some duties...surely, and for those who are called, a great blessing. But to make it a total requirement....above and beyond what the Holy Spirit speaking through St. Paul instructed? Not a good thing to think oneself wiser than God's Holy word, be it individuals or a Church with its tradition.

"Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,..." (I Tim. 3:2)

"An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient." (Titus 1:6)

Clearly Saint Paul was assuming (most) Church leaders would be married--as were (most) respectable men in the ancient Jewish/Christian communities. Saint Paul did indeed encourage a celibate lifestyle, like his own, but never made it an absolute requirement for Church leadership. How then can the Church (continue) today to do so?

*(meaning being part of the Church of Jesus Christ catholic, that is universal.)