[redgolum]

But it is also incorrect to say celibacy was the norm that early. There are plusses and minuses to both sides. In many Mediterranean cultures, it was viewed as ideal. In places with less popular focus on later Greek philosophy such as Ireland, not so much.

On a practical level, there was a real risk in creating a form of priest nobles

[marshmallow]

The quote contained in the article implies that there was a gap of 900 years from the time of Our Lord's death until the institution of celibacy. Ergo, this was some form of rupture or departure from the practice of the early Church, requiring (to quote the headline), a "solution".

This is where my problem lies since this is a gross distortion and denies the theology and practice of the early Church, starting with St. Paul, who desired that all men might be as himself (1 Corinthians 7:7-8).

We can debate its extent in the early Church but celibacy has its genesis in apostolic times and even before since "..... there are eunuchs, who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven". (Matthew 19:12).

The "900 years" shtick is fiction.