Posted on 12/27/2008 3:43:47 PM PST by NYer
This question often arises in the forum. The q & a format of this thread provides responses on many levels.
I hate to say it but Money is the reason. In the distance past priest could have wifes but as in common law when the husband died the wife and sons would end up with the land and money and for this reason years ago the church changed the standards and here we are.
Glad you hated to say it, since it's not true. That's an old fairy tale spread by enemies of Christ's church.
Well actually there are a very few married Priests. They were Anglican priests that were permitted to remain married when they were accepted as Catholic priests.
For the record, I appreciate and understand the reasons why priests are expected to remain celibate (representation of Christ) but, since only Bishops are the direct representatives of Christ on earth. I’ve long felt that Priests should be allowed to get married and should not have to remain celibate. The celibacy requirements should of course apply to Bishops (which of course includes the Bishop of Rome).
Not just married Anglican priests have been accepted into the Catholic priesthood; there are married former ministers of other Protestant faiths, too.
Interesting you should say that, My mother researched this years ago and I have had conversations with past priest of mine and was told that yes in the first several hundred years of the church priest on up did have wives. I can not point to a specific priest right now but there is plenty of documentation on popes whom had wifes, sons and daughters so maybe you might be missing something. or the historical documentation is just false.
What is it with you and posting all this why cannot certain people do things because of Catholics jazz? This is your second topic like this. Are you a tad miffed at Catholics or something?
I'm not missing anything, and don't disagree that priests could marry early in Church history. The lie is in your claim that requiring celibacy is about money. Prove it.
Well other than taking you back into time and past politics I can not prove it beyond a doubt but do you think things political then are that much different than now? if so I challenge you to prove there is a difference. Here is one quick easy to find reference.
http://childrenofpriests.org/web/content/view/22/31/
Also you are free to believe what you want but I believe what I have heard combined with what I see. The church was very power hungry. Yes I am Catholic and I do believe my faith has made many mistakes but it is in the end only run by humans and we humans do have failings one big one is not to recognize and learn for mistakes.
I don’t think priests were ever allowed to get married once they became priests. I think that married men were allowed to become priests. Celebacy is a discipline in the latin rite of the Catholic Church. Other rites of the Catholic Church and other Apostolic Churches let married men become priests, but I’m pretty sure no apostolic Church allows priests to get married once they take their orders. And I don’t think any of these Churches allow married bishops.
Freegards
Where does your link discuss inheritance of the Church's wealth as a reason for instituting celibacy in the Catholic priesthood? You do know that the property belongs to the Church and not to the priest, so he couldn't will it to his family if he wanted to? It's not his to give away. Before celibacy was a discipline in the Church (note that it is not a doctrine of the Church), priests could not will away Church property. What your claiming is just another lie against the Church, a fable attempting to split believers away from the Church.
This is the position I too have adopted. I was against marriage for Priests for most of my life, but the shortage of Priests is reaching a critical mass (no pun intended). I hope that the next Pope will address this issue more seriously, but I'm not expecting it.
I take it you mean the "Catholic Church". And disagreeing with doctrines of any church doesn't necessarily make someone an "enemy" of that church. I find statements like yours to be unnecessarily divisive. It presumes only the Catholic church is "Christ's church". We are all brothers and sisters in Christ including those of us who are not Catholic (or in my case have protestant and catholic family members).
Having said that I don't find money as a very convincing reason for Priests becoming celibate. Celibacy of the priesthood is one of many things I admire about the Catholic church.
The 21 Churches that make up the Eastern branch of the Catholic Church all have married priests. Since their first vow is to marriage, the family takes precedence over the parish. The parish must have sufficient resources to support a married priest, his wife, children, their home, cars, children's education, health and dental insurance.. According to the Patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church, the great challenge is in matching a married priest to a parish because if things don't work out, the cost of relocating the priest and his family is very expensive. For that reason, NO married priests are sent to the diaspora. My pastor's grandfather was a married priest; he, on the other hand, has chosen the celibate life.
You may find this thread informative.
About a 1/3 of the way down you will find this sentence “At the same time they claimed ownership of the churches and the lands owned by married priests.” You might want to read more than that to get the full political feel of this document. Your free to challenge me all you want but I don’t think your going to change my mind on what I have learned in the past. Can you produce proof Priest, Bishops, Cardinals, and Popes were not married? and then what is you reason they can not marry now? is it because the are devoted (married) to God? is that you reason? Because the church does not preach that a preist is Gods Wife/Husband they are teachers of his words is what I have learned.
These are 'apologetics' threads. They are posted because people find the topics interesting. If they don't interest you, then there is no need to visit the thread.
Ping to post #15.
Before you swallow this whole, wouldn't you want to see some proof? I sure would, and I haven't seen any.
Your free to challenge me all you want but I don’t think your going to change my mind on what I have learned in the past.
You don't change your mind about things you've "learned" in the past? You've never "learned" anything in the past that turned out to be wrong? If not, you are unique.
Can you produce proof Priest, Bishops, Cardinals, and Popes were not married?
Why would I want to do that? I'm not claiming priests were not married during early Church history. I've said that earlier.
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