Catholic Scandals: A Crisis for Celibacy?

Touchstone Magazine ^ | March/April, 2002 | Leon J. Podles, Ph. D.

[Proud2BAmerican]

I think most diocesan priests take a vow of chastity and obedience,

All are called to live a life of chastity (married people included); priests take a vow of celibacy. There's a difference.

[joathome]

You're right. But my point was that not all priests take vows of poverty. Also, the phrase, "poverty, chastity and obedience" is well known.

[Proud2BAmerican]

But my point was that not all priests take vows of poverty.

I understood your point about poverty. I just wanted to make sure you knew the significant difference between chastity and celibacy.

[joathome]

As a "chaste" sexually active married woman, I assure you that I do. :)

[JesusIsLord]

The rock is what the church is built on. Have you forgotten who started it?

I've never doubted that Jesus started the church.

[JesusIsLord]

Jesus would disagree with you, friend ...

Is there something in particular that you see us in disagreement on?

[ThomasMore]

Just getting back into posting after the Holy Days. Excellant article, thanks!

TM

[wideawake]

Question for you: If a heterosexual male sees a fully-developed woman whom he presumes to be an adult and finds her to be attractive, only to learn later that she is only 16, is he a closet pedophile?

Of course not - he was not attracted to her because she looked prepubescent: he was attracted to her precisely because she had the figure of an adult woman.

The problem is not celibacy - the problem is homosexuality.

Very rarely do we hear of priests having affairs with 16 or 17 year old girls - instead we hear of them carrying on with 16 or 17 year old boys. If homosexuals were banned from the priesthood, as they used to be, then these problems would not exist.

[saradippity]

The word translated as "wife" in the passage you cited is the same word translated as "woman" in the passage about the wedding at Cana. I am quite sure Jesus was not calling his mother "wife".

I think it's possible that the apostles travelled with sisters,mothers-in-law(Peter)aunts,maybe even their mothers. The passage only indicates that some of them did have females with them,what the relationships were is not known.

[saradippity]

No.