Posted on 06/10/2010 3:41:15 AM PDT by markomalley
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 9, 2010 (Zenit.org).- There is a beautiful aspect of celibacy that underlines a priest's dedication to serve each and every person as a brother or sister in Christ, says Benedict XVI's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.
The cardinal spoke about the priesthood and celibacy this afternoon at the "Priests Today" conference, held at Paul VI Hall in the Vatican. The Congregation for Clergy sponsored the three-hour event, in cooperation with the Focolare Movement, the Schoenstatt Movement and the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal.
Priests "are essentially brothers among brothers, in whom they recognize the face of Christ. Brothers of every person, of men and women, whom they must love and serve with total selflessness, without any attachment, without seeking their own interest," explained Cardinal Bertone.
"Thus is understood the present importance and beauty of celibacy. And in you this beauty radiates that unconditional love which has always been extremely valued by the Church, as sign and stimulus of charity and as special source of fruitfulness in the world," he added.
The Church and humanity, the cardinal stated, "are in need of priests of this mettle, of authentic 'prophets of a new world,' that world that began with the coming of Christ, which is in continuous becoming, in continuous formation."
"At this time," Cardinal Bertone lamented, "we have had to bear the sorrow of infidelity, on occasions grave, of some members of the clergy, who have had an extremely negative influence on the credibility of the Church."
For this reason, he recalled, when Benedict XVI spoke with journalists on the flight to Portugal, he referred to "a 'persecution' that is born within the Church herself."
"From this sorrow arises a providential awareness," added cardinal Bertone quoting Benedict XVI's Pastoral Letter to Catholics of Ireland. "It is necessary to live 'a period of rebirth and spiritual renewal,' to follow 'with courage the path of conversion, purification and reconciliation,' 'to find new ways to transmit to young people the beauty and richness of friendship with Jesus Christ in the communion of his Church.'"
Thousands of priests from 70 countries took part in the half-day event that marked the beginning of the closing ceremonies of the Year for Priests, which ends Friday.
The Catholic Church is rife with dogma that one must not interfer with the natural order of things. Example: Contraception interfers with the process of creating children. Therefore, it is condemned.
But somehow the Church rationalizes that celibacy does not interfer with the admonition of “be fruitful and multiply”. Moreover, there are those who see it as somehow being beautiful.
IMHO, it is one of man’s most unnatural acts.
1 Cor 7:7-9 I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own special gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain single as I do. But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion.
You beat me to posting this. Thanks!
Of what dogma are you speaking. Or are you really talking about doctrine? Or are you just talking about your own opinion?
It is true: It is a beautiful thing that some people have dedicated their lives to magnifying the Lord through celibate service. Protestants (like me) should affirm the office of celibate service and those who choose to pursue it.
Great post!
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I think I explained it clearly. But I’ll try again.
Catholic Church: Contraception is prohibited because it interfers with the natural child birth process. This dogma, doctrine or whatever is derived, at least in part, from a passsage in the Bible that exhorts people to [be fruitful and multiply].
I was taught this by Jesuit priests and it has been a standard Church position repeated many times over the milennnia.
IMHO the act of celebacy is no different than contraception. It interfers with God’s admonishment as stated above. Therefore, IMHO, celebacy is in direct contradition to the above teaching.
I do not see anything in that quote that unequivocally pertains to celibacy. I don’t think it’s possible to know precisely what Jesus meant by wishing people “were as myself am”.
If his expectation was that men and women not be attracted to one another then exactly how was the human race supposed to procreate? Doesn’t work. Which begs the question: Why are men and women attacted to each other in the first place?
Then, of course, there is the issue of the Bible’s word for word accuracy. For the most part it was written by men long after Jesus left us. How much of the Bible includes the writer’s beliefs, prejudices and politics? We simply do not know.
I have no quibble with anyone who chooses a celibate life for what ever reason. But for a religious institution to require it is way over the top—IMHO.
In any case, the Catholic Church has been ordaining previously married men who had children for years now. Where is the consistency?
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