The Vatican yesterday {Friday, 23 September 2005} attempted a damage-limitation
exercise in the wake of sexual scandals in the priesthood by insisting that homosexuals may not be considered for training
or ordination unless their orientation is transitory and they have been celibate for at least three years. In a move which may send shivers through seminaries across the world, a long-awaited document issued in
Rome as the first substantive order of Pope Benedict XVI's papacy reasserted church teaching that gays are intrinsically immoral, that their behaviour is contrary to
natural law, that their acts are grave sins and that they are objectively disordered. But it then also called for them to be treated with respect and
sensitivity. The document, which relates specifically to admissions to seminaries
and ordinations, states that the church will not ordain "those who are actively homosexual, have deep-seated homosexual tendencies
or support the so-called gay culture". The document adds: "The negative consequences
that can result from the ordination of persons with deep-seated homosexual tendencies should not be obscured. When dealing
with homosexual tendencies that might be only a manifestation of a transitory problem as for example delayed adolescence these
must be clearly overcome at least three years before diaconal ordination."
Rigid enforcement of the rule, which
is a restatement of traditional church teaching, would equally apply to heterosexual sexual activity had the document not
separated them out. It would however cause problems in a number of seminaries for a church which in many western countries
is desperately short of vocations. Five years ago a book published in the US by a former seminary head estimated that 50% of all those in training
were gay. {Father Donald Cozzens, Faith Dares to Speak, Nov 2004}. The document, apparently eight years in development, was released yesterday without additional comment
or clarification by the Vatican. The 1.1 billion-strong worldwide church has been battered in recent years by sexual scandals in
the priesthood, by no means all of it homosexual. But paedophile priests have wrought havoc to its reputation in many countries,
not least Britain.
"Perhaps [the document] is best understood as
meaning ... someone whose sexual orientation is so central to his self-perception as to be obsessive, dominating his imagination.
This would indeed pose questions as to whether he would be able to live happily as a celibate priest. But any heterosexual
who was so focused on his sexuality would have problems too. What matters is sexual maturity rather than orientation."
Example of the press misleading
Critics have pointed out since the
document was leaked to an Italian news website last week that the Vatican has not said how such tendencies are to be defined or what the
so-called gay culture involves. Father Timothy Radcliffe, the English former master of the worldwide Dominican Order, who
is now based at Blackfriars, Oxford, wrote in last week's Tablet Catholic magazine: "I have no doubt that God does call homosexuals
to the priesthood and they are among the most dedicated and impressive priests I have met. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor,
the leader of the church in England and Wales, said: "The instruction is not saying that men of homosexual orientation are not welcome in the
priesthood. But it is making clear that they must be capable of affective maturity, have a capacity for celibacy and not share
the values of eroticised gay culture."
From the about website at http://atheism.about.com/od/catholicismandgays/a/gaypriests_2.htm
This is now a critical juncture for the Roman Catholic Church, particularly in America.
Most studies put the number
of gay Catholic priests at around 25 percent or higher - dismissing them would devastate an already imperiled
American priesthood. The median age of American priests is nearly 60 and getting older. The number of people entering seminaries
has dropped by more than 80 percent since 1966, even as the Catholic population in America
has increased dramatically.
Most studies put the number of gay Catholic priests at around 25 percent or
higher - dismissing them would devastate an already imperiled American priesthood. The median age of American priests is nearly
60 and getting older. The number of people entering seminaries has dropped by more than 80 percent since 1966, even as the
Catholic population in America has increased dramatically.
The History of Marriage and Priesthood
http://atheism.about.com/od/romancatholicism/a/celibacy_2.htm
As a consequence, married
priests were prohibited from celebrating the Eucharist for a full day after having sexual intercourse with their wives. Because
there was a trend to celebrate the Eucharist more and more often, sometimes even daily, there was great pressure on priests
to be celibate just to fulfill their basic religious functions - and eventually they were prohibited from having sex at all
with their wives. Because of this, celibacy among priests was already somewhat common by 300 A.D., when the Spanish Council
of Elvira required that bishops, priests, and deacons who were married abstain from sex with their wives.
It wasn't until 1139, with
the Second Lateran Council, that mandatory celibacy was officially imposed on all priests. Any marriage entered into by a
priest was regarded as invalid and anyone currently married had to separate from their spouses - leaving them to whatever
fate God had in store for them, even if it meant leaving them destitute. Of course this was an immoral thing to do to those
spouses, and many clergy realized that there was little religious or traditional basis for it, so they defied that order and
continued in their marriages.
Perhaps the final blow
against priests' ability to marry came during the Council of Trent (1545-1563) - and through a technicality. It was at this
time that the church asserted that no one could be considered to have a valid Christian marriage unless that marriage were
performed by a valid priest and in front of two witnesses. Before this, private marriages performed by priests or, indeed,
just about anyone else, were common in some areas. Sometimes the only people who were there was the officiant and the couple.
Now, however, such clandestine marriages were impossible - and this effectively eliminated marriage for the clergy.
Married
Catholic Priests
You aren't likely to hear
a great deal about married Roman Catholic priests, but they do exist. First there are the priests who are part of the Eastern
Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern Rite, who can be found in places like the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, the Ukraine, and other nations along
the border between Western and Eastern Christianity. These churches are under the jurisdiction of the Vatican and they recognize the
authority of the pope; however, their practices and traditions are much closer to those of the Eastern Orthodox Churches,
and one of those traditions is allowing priests to marry.
They are Roman Catholic
priests and many are married - so many, in fact, that some estimates place their number at around 20% of all Roman Catholic
priests in the world. This would mean that 20% of all Roman Catholic priests are officially and legally married, even though
celibacy continues to be a requirement. But marriage is not limited to priests who are part of the Eastern Catholic Churches
- we can also find about 100 Catholic priests in America who are married and who are part of the
Western Catholicism that comes to mind when most think of Roman Catholicism.
Why are they married? They
got married while serving as priests in other Christian denominations, usually the Anglican or Lutheran churches. If such
a priest decides that he would be better off within Roman Catholicism, he can apply to a local bishop, who then submits a
special application to the pope, with decisions being made on a case-by-case basis. If accepted, he is certainly not expected
to get divorced or otherwise separate from his spouse, so his wife comes right along as well. This exception to the celibacy
rule was created on July 22, 1980.
A similar phenomena concerning cloistered nuns in France was chronicled by Denis Diderot (a leader of the reformation and associate of Voltaire) in his
Memoirs of a Nun (La Religieuse)--a few juice pages here.
There is a problem of source: 1), Encyclopedias such as Britannica
don’t wish to offend Catholics, so they avoid the topic. 2) Catholic sources
are biased. Thus there are few if any authoritative sources. Wikipedia has relied on the Catholic spin to the history of marriage for priests—their footnotes
confirm what is gleaned from the contents. The Catholic Encyclopedia buries the
reader in councils, published works, and position statements, but has scant little on practices. The written record makes reconstruction of the practice difficult at best.
However, I would assume that Will Durant has adequately researched the practice.
He places the ban as being enforced in the 14th century, with the practice thus declining—jk.
WIKIPEDIA
{Written from Catholic sources—and in conflict with other sources. Will Durant places it in the 14th century as to when the practice of marriages for priests ended.}
Celibacy for Roman Catholic priest is a discipline not a doctrine; viz., a church regulation
and not an infallible divine teaching. The practice of married clergy fell out
of favour around the time of the Council of Elvira (306 BC) and made law in the 800’s. Wikipedia.org
