The darling children who are free of such things are such little angels.
Posted on 07/22/2006 7:06:59 AM PDT by NYer
Aw dang, Jeff, you caught us red-handed!Trying to Hook More Youths on Priesthood
In this era of Eminem and Britney Spears, of sexy sitcoms and sexier commercials, of high-speed Internet and instant gratification, a life of celibacy devoted to God can be a hard sell to a teenager.
So as the nation's Roman Catholic leaders gathered recently and watched a video called "Fishers of Men," designed to draw young men to the priesthood, they had good reason to worry about the future of their chosen way of life.
Church leaders have long been aware of the statistics. There are now about 43,000 Catholic priests in America, down from more than 58,000 in 1965. As the U.S. Catholic population has risen to about 70 million, more churches have had to share priests.
What receives less attention is that the men who go into the seminary generally don't do so until later in life. The average age of newly ordained priests was 36 last year, up from 28 in the 1960s and 26 in the 1940s.
...
Observers of vocational trends say more effort is needed now because of smaller families, with parents who want grandchildren; a secularized culture wary of lifetime commitment and celibacy; Catholic assimilation in America; and increased family mobility, which detracts from parish loyalties. [More...]
First Timothy 3: 1-4
Then what's this:
205: Paul was an apostle, who was married.
Did you misspell Peter?
Where does it say in the Bible where it says that priests shouldn't marry?
You can't point me to the place in First Timothy where it says priests cannot volunteer to take a vow of celibacy?
Nope, it's not there.
I see no prohibition to voluntary vows of celibacy for priests.
Where does it say that priests should be celibate in the Bible?
You've been lying. If I were you, I'd run away from it too.
We're talking about what the Church requires. Where does is it implicity say that priests are forbidden to marry?
Lying where?
They volunteer to remain celibate.
They can't. The Church requires it, not the Bible. Where is a requirement in the Bible?
"I'm talking about Peter." Nope, you lied, and #205 is proof.
"First Timothy 3:1-4" prohibits priests from taking a vow of celibacy. Nope, you lied. It says no such thing, and #224 is proof.
Forgive my sin of confusing Paul with Peter. Answer my post above.
They can't? Of course they can take voluntary vows of celibacy...it happens all the time. You've lied again.
Since I have steadfastly repeated "volunteer" or "voluntarily" over and over again, where did you get the idea I have claimed it is a requirement in the Bible?
The church requires they be celibate and not married in a normal sense. Where is that in the Bible?
Then how can a man be appointed to a priesthood in the west Catholic Church who is married to a woman?
I believe you were trying to switch from Paul to Peter because you can't provide any link to proof that Paul was married, as you claimed. I base this belief on the number of other lies of yours, as documented in this thread.
Are you suggesting I have claimed this?
The darling children who are free of such things are such little angels.
I also recognize it is not a proof of anything;however,it is just as likely to be true as your interpretation of it. I think you are fighting on too many fronts and have lost all your weapons and don't know where to find them. No one ever learns or grows if one isn't open to at least some discussion of issues that are not crystal clear.
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