Pope: Priests Must Stay Celibate

AP via Yahoo via Drudge ^ | 4-20-2002 | NICOLE WINFIELD

[Notwithstanding]

In a strong message days before a summit of U.S. churchmen on a sex abuse scandal, Pope John Paul (news - web sites) II said Saturday that priests must live celibate lives and avoid scandalous behavior. Bishops, he said, must investigate such behavior and take action to end it.

[jimmyray]

(NIV) 1 Timothhy 4:1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

3. They forbid people to marry...

Either the Scripture is infallible or RC church doctrine is.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

I was praising the inner-strength of priests and admitting my weakness. Sometimes it better to leave well-enough alone. You better quit worrying about me and consider why 50% of marriages end in divorce. Here's a clue: I have a whole lot of married co-workers who talk about being sexually frustrated. LadyDoc take note.

[Redleg Duke]

It is disgusting the way that the media is avoiding accusing any of these scumbags of being what they are, Homosexuals!

I am a Lutheran, not a Catholic, but I resent the way the media is tearing apart one of the principal parts of the Christian Church on Earth, while bending over backwards (no pun intended) to placate the friggin' Queer Lobby.

[Unam Sanctam]

Praise God for our wonderful and holy father in Rome!

[Salman]

Celibate priests is wrong, but changing the rule won't solve the problem. There has to be a change and a purge.

There have been occasional cases of sexual abuse by Jewish rabbis. The solution has been to fire them. Every synagogue is a law unto itself, as it might be a Baptist church.

The Roman Catholic church needs a similar solution.

[Arkinsaw]

Don't criticize what you are apparently incapable of understanding.

It's easier for those without a large amount of testosterone to get high and mighty about its considerable effects. I personally would prefer to avoid celibacy and consider it a negative in my life (even if I am sometimes forced into it by pregnancy/illness/etc). Its also pretty high and mighty to categorize people who prefer to avoid it and consider it a negative into the categories of cheater/prostitute hunter/or pedophile. If someone thinks celibacy is all mystical and a higher calling then they should take the vow and keep their opinions of us 'low life' who don't follow to themselves. Thus I am arriving in defense Excuse_My_Bellicosity.

[Torie]

Let the Pope work on just taking baby steps, say something along the lines that, "Bishops must take steps to stop criminal sexual behavior by priests." You can only consume a Big Mac one bite at a time.

[Arkinsaw]

It reminds me of PETA Vegans that I have met who get all frowny when you purchase a hamburger and consider you as some sort of moral degenerate since you are "unable to contain your (natural) carnivorous urges" like they do.

Personally, I don't care what they do for themselves but would be more impressed with an ability to mind they own beeswax than an ability to not eat a hamburger.

[umgud]

Ditto.....

[Unam Sanctam]

3. They forbid people to marry...

Either the Scripture is infallible or RC church doctrine is.

Nobody is forbidden to marry in the Catholic Church. One is free to choose to marry or not. People can choose alternatively to enter the priesthood or religious life. No one is forced to be a priest. They make a free choice and take a vow of chastity. This Scriptural reference speaks more to people like various Gnostic sects, or the Cathars, Albigensians or Shakers that actually forbid people to marry at all. The Church has always upheld the dignity of marriage, unlike the irrational super ascetic sects of antiquity.

[Great Dane]

What is your real point?

My point is...... if man created the law, he can also undo it, if that seem to be required.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

No joke, you nailed it. I was praising the inner-strength of priests and admitting my weaknesses and got flamed for it. Whatever.

Sounds to me like SOMEBODY is rationalizing not taking care of their man at home and has a guilty conscience about it.

[Notwithstanding]

I hope you will admit that it is quite Christian and very biblical to forbid many people to marry and still not violate the scripture you quote.

How is that so you might ask? Well, your own church likely forbids at least two of the following categories of people to marry: those too young to consent, those mentally incompetent and too feeble-minded to consent, those who are not free to consent because they are already married (prohibitions against bigamy, and against divorce and remarriage), and those who are not free to marry because they have taken a voluntary vow of life-long celibacy.

[Notwithstanding]

On this all Catholics agree - including the pope. Celibacy is a discipline that CAN be changed.

In today's hypersexed culture, celibacy is a true gift and a tremendous witness to all that the libido does not need to contol us. The Church is so very wise to require her leaders to bear such witness.

[Notwithstanding]

May I too salute the strength of those who are committed to celibacy and acknowledge my own awe at such an undertaking.

[BlackElk]

Actually, St. Paul writes favorably in Acts of a life of dedicated celibacy as superior and then makes the concession trhat it is better to marry than to burn (in hell presumably), although celibacy, if superior, will not send you to hell.

As to the Catholic part, it is a discipline, a prudential judgment, applicable only to one rite, the Latin, of the Roman Catholic Church, reversible at will by any pope and please spare me the man-made rules response. He isn't telling you or your minister what to do. No Church document that I know of purports to tell you how to be a better Protestant.

With all due respect, you are so busy patting yourself on the back over your own imaginings of the meaning of Scripture, that you are missing the point. I am not insulting non-Catholics by saying that you ought not to criticize what you don't understand, but if you don't understand (and you don't), you don't understand.

I don't like fights between Christians in the presence of others (like on Free Republic). It gives aid and comfort to our mutual enemies. Can we give this a rest? Catholics are understandably a bit hair-trigger due to the relentless attacks by the usual gang of atheist media suspects. We don't need to hear what Jack Chick thinks while we are at it and I would not understand that if I heard it.

[ninenot]

Actually, you could. You just have to be motivated. There were lots of men on the Green Bay Packers team during the Lombardi era who 'thought they couldn't' whatever. Lombardi simply motivated them, and they DID whatever...

[ninenot]

Celibacy will never be optional with any of JPII's successors, either. Get used to it, Sinky.

[BlackElk]

Far be it from me to suggest how you and your spouse ought to conduct your intimate relations. Far be it from you to be doing likewise toward others. Is this post also not a criticism. If not, we are not talking the same language across the theological divide and this is one more reason for Christians of differing persuasions not to entertain our mutual enemies by flaing one another.