Bishops & Priests

Details: 10 June 2011

Celibacy

The Second Vatican Council teaches, "With respect to priestly life, the Church has always held in especially high regard perfect and perpetual continence." The Council goes on to affirm, "Celibacy accords with the priesthood on many scores. For the whole priestly mission is dedicated to that new humanity which Christ, the Conqueror of death, raises up in the world through His Spirit. This humanity takes its origin not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:13). Through virginity or celibacy observed for the sake of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:12), priests are consecrated to Christ in a new and distinguished way. They more easily hold fast to Him with an undivided heart (1 Corinthians 7:32-34). They more freely devote themselves to Him and through Him to the service of God and men. They more readily minister to His kingdom and to the work of heavenly regeneration, and thus become more apt to exercise (a spiritual) fatherhood in Christ and to do this to a greater extent. Hence, in this way they profess before men that they desire to dedicate themselves in an undivided way to the task assigned to them, namely, to betroth the faithful to one Man, and present them as a pure virgin to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2). They thereby evoke that mysterious marriage which was established by God and will be fully manifested in the future and by which the Church has Christ as her only Spouse (Ephesians 5:25-32). Moreover they become a vivid sign of that future world, which is already present through faith and charity, and in which the children of the resurrection will neither marry nor take wives (Luke 20:35-36)."

The Council goes on to explain, "For these reasons, which are based on the mystery of the Church and her mission, celibacy was at first recommended to priests. Then, in the Latin Church, it was imposed by law on all who were to be promoted to Sacred Orders. This legislation, to the extent that it concerns those who are destined to the priesthood, this most Holy Council again approves and confirms. It trusts in the Holy Spirit that the gift of celibacy, which so befits the priesthood of the New Testament, will be generously bestowed by God the Father, as long as those who share Christ’s priesthood through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, and indeed the whole Church, humbly and earnestly pray for it."

Alvaro Del Portillo

Bishop Alvaro del Portillo was the executive secretary of the commission of the Second Vatican Council on priests, which presented the special document on the priesthood, requested by many Council Fathers, to the entire Council for its approval and discussion. That document, amended by the entire Council, then was debated, voted on, and passed by an almost unanimous majority, (only two dissenting votes), and thus it became the Council’s Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests ("Presbyterium Ordinis").

On this matter, the Bishop said, "Celibacy makes the priest a special representative sign of the virginity and fruitful love of the Bride of Christ (the Catholic Church), and makes the priest also a prophetic witness in the present age of that future world where justice dwells (1 Peter 3:12), and in which the redeemed will be like God since they will see Him as He is (1 John 3:2). Everyone can see how perfect and perpetual continence for the sake of the kingdom of heaven reinforces and shows forth to men the eschatological calling which is inherent in Christ’s mission, and especially in the evangelizing ministry of the priest, who must always be the restless witness of eternity. This sign is particularly powerful in the crisis of faith which materialism has provoked in our world today."

Blessed John Paul II

During the course of his long and glorious pontificate, Blessed Pope John Paul II often spoke and wrote about priestly celibacy in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. When a Bishop and later as Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, and thus a Council Father, he was active in the discussion and decisions of the Council about the priesthood. As Pope, he frequently condemned "the systematic propaganda which is hostile to celibacy and which finds support and complicity in some of the mass media." In one of his talks he said, "At this time, when some question the desirability of maintaining the discipline of priestly celibacy, Bishops must courageously teach the fittingness of linking this sign of contradiction with the ministerial priesthood."

In his papal discourse, he went on to say, "On the basis of her experience and reflection, the Church has discerned, with growing clarity through the ages, that priestly celibacy is not just a legal requirement imposed as a condition for ordination. It is profoundly connected with a man’s configuration to Christ, the Good Shepherd and Spouse of the Church. Certainly, it is a grace which does not dispense with, but counts most definitely on, a conscious and free response on the part of the receiver. This charism of the Holy Spirit also brings with it the graces for the receiver to remain faithful to it for all his life and to be able to carry out generously and joyfully its concomitant commitments."

Blessed John Paul said, "Cultural considerations and the scarcity of priests in certain regions sometimes give rise to calls for a change in this discipline. To give decisive weight to criteria deriving more from certain currents of anthropology, sociology, or psychology than from the path of the Church’s living tradition is certainly not the path to follow. We cannot overlook the fact that the Church comes to know the divine will through the interior guidance of the Holy Spirit (John 16:13), and the difficulties involved today in keeping celibacy are not sufficient reason to overturn the Church’s conviction regarding its value and appropriateness, a conviction constantly reaffirmed by the Church’s Magisterium, not least by the Second Vatican Council."

Pope Benedict XVI

Our present Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has remarked, "The priest must make himself available to the Lord in the fullness of his being and consequently find himself totally available to men and women. I think celibacy is a fundamental expression of this totality and already, for this reason, an important reference in this world, because it only has meaning if we truly believe in eternal life and if we believe that God involves us and that we can be for Him."

Preaching at a Mass for the ordination of priests for the Diocese of Rome, the Roman Pontiff stated, "To become priests in the Church means to enter into the self-donation of Christ through the Sacrament of Holy Orders and to enter with all one’s being. Jesus gave His life for all, but in a special way He consecrated Himself for those the Father had given Him, that they could be consecrated in truth, that is, in Him, and could speak and act in His name, represent Him, continue His saving actions, breaking the Bread of Life, and remitting sins. The mystery of the priesthood of Christ lies in the fact that we, miserable human beings, by virtue of the Sacrament of Orders can speak with the "I" of Jesus and stand "in the Person of Christ". He wishes to exercise His priesthood through us."