Celibate Clergy: The Need for Historical Debate

Pope Francis has nourished great expectations that this is the time to introduce necessary reforms in the Church. Among the most important issues that call for change is the reform of celibacy discipline involving diocesan clergy. The arguments for are grouped in: clergy shortage; cultural changes about affective life; and a more realistic view concerning priests living conditions. At the same time, an attempt is made to respond to three objections to the proposed change: an uncertain outcome in attracting vocations; that the problem is another, that is, a weakness affecting Church life; and a threatening crisis to Catholic identity that such a change could trigger.

2013

This essay aims to discuss the historical development of the discipline of celibacy in the Church. The OED defines celibacy as living in an unmarried state – indeed celibacy comes from the Latin coelebs “meaning an unmarried man” – however Sipe offers a richer definition, noting that it is a “freely chosen dynamic state, usually vowed, that involves an honest and sustained attempt to live without direct sexual gratification in order to serve others productively for a spiritual motive.” Whilst a cursory mention will be made of how other rites within the Church view celibacy, especially with regards to their clergy, the main focus of my essay shall be around how the Latin Rite views celibacy generally, and specifically how it came to institutionalise celibacy as a discipline for her clergy, since it was first only “recommended to priests, [and only] later ... imposed upon all who were to be promoted to sacred orders” The three-fold 20th century conciliar understanding of celibacy vis-à-vis it’s Christological, ecclesiological and eschatological dimensions cannot be fully discussed here – however each dimension, the reader will appreciate, has also been affected by the historical circumstances and context within which it developed. This essay will therefore try to trace out only some of these developments.

Catholic sexual theology is a theology biologically and socially constructed. Unless and until a radical re-appraisal of the foundations of a biological sexual theology is undertaken, nothing will change. Institutional celibacy, patriarchal structures and the place of women in the church, are i..., 2025

Institutional celibacy is an apparatus in which power rests in the hands of a male celibate elite. It depends for its legitimacy in the Catholic Church, on a biologically determined sexual theology, which because of the association of sex, women, and sin, elevates the celibate male to a position of spiritual purity with a privileged access to truth. It forms part of the apparatuses of power which segregate and subordinate women in the Church. Despite the sense of positive change, with the pontificate of Francis in 2013, nothing has changed. The Church continues with a biological and social construct of sexual theology. Institutional celibacy, the ban on married priests and the position of women in the Church will not change.

In Defense of Married Priesthood, 2023

Combining the sociological theories on law, symbolic interaction, and social resistance as the overall theoretical framework and drawing on secondary literature as the primary textual data, this chapter examines the passive social resistance of Catholic priests at the backstage of clerical life. It argues that the imposition of the mandatory celibacy law in the Roman Catholic Church has deprived clerics the option to choose married priesthood as a legitimate calling of Catholic priesthood, resulting in subtle and covert acts of resistance manifested in acts of sexual deviance and abuse. Specifically applying James Scott's theory on social resistance and Erving Goffman's symbolic interactionism, it fundamentally examines the major strategies of passive resistant strategies in everyday life to silently oppose the celibacy law. It argues that the legislation of the clerical celibacy in the Catholic Church during the 11 th and 12 th centuries, which was contrary to Christ's original teaching and early Christian custom, has resulted in the perennial passive social resistance of clerics in the secret world of clerical concubinage, fornication, as well as sexual abuse and perversion.

In Defense of Married Priesthood: A Sociotheological Investigation of Catholic Clerical Celibacy, 2023

This chapter introduces the book’s sociotheological approach that creatively combines sociological and theological perspectives in establishing the book’s objectives, methodology, theoretical foundation, and overall argument to defend married priesthood as a legitimate social calling of Catholic priesthood that needs to be reestablished in contemporary times to address serious clerical problems. It also critically investigates the biblical and doctrinal basis of celibate priesthood and deconstructs the major social constructions of clerical celibacy that justify its imposition in the Roman Catholic Church. It argues the gift of Catholic priesthood has two social callings, namely: celibate priesthood and married priesthood, which is consistent with the priesthood in the Eastern Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant churches.

2016

Introduction-'For the sake of the kingdom of heaven'?: shaping the Celibacy Debate 1 1 'if there is one faith, there must be one tradition': Clerical Celibacy and Marriage in the early Church 15 2 'Preserving the Ancient Rule and Apostolic Perfection'?: Celibacy and Marriage in east and West 59 3 'a concubine or an unlawful woman': Celibacy, Marriage, and the Gregorian reform 87 4 'in marriage they will live more piously and honestly': Debating Clerical Celibacy in the Pre-reformation Church 5 'The whole world and the devil will laugh': Clerical Celibacy and Married Priests in the age of reformation 6 'Contrary to the state of their order and the laudable customs of the church': Clerical Celibacy in the Catholic Church after the reformation Conclusion-'One of the chief ornaments of the Catholic clergy'?: Celibacy in the Modern Church Bibliography Index ThIS PAgE hAS BEEn lEfT BlAnK InTEnTIonAlly This project had its roots in a pleasant conversation with Thomas Mayer, rather longer ago than I would like to admit. At the time, and perhaps lulled into a false sense of security and optimism by the summer sunshine, the scale of the undertaking was perhaps less apparent than it should have been. As a result, friends, family, and colleagues have heard more about the history of the church, the discipline of celibacy, and the marriage of priests, than they might have thought necessary. Their forbearance is much appreciated. I am particularly grateful to staff in the History department at the University of Reading who have provided much encouragement and intellectual stimulation along the way, and to the numerous friends outside the university who have resisted the temptation to ask 'but why?' in response to a description of my research plans. Colleagues with interests in medieval and early modern history have tolerated with good humour my intrusions onto their turf, and provided a gentle guiding hand that has preserved me from many egregious errors. Any that remain are entirely my own work. I am particularly grateful to Frank Tallett, who read the later parts of the book in an earlier draft and provided many helpful suggestions for improvement, and to Felicity Heal, who cast an expert eye over the Reformation material. I am indebted to the patience of staff in the Reading University Library, and to the Bodleian Library in Oxford, and the British Library for permission to use their collections. The text of this book was completed during a period of research leave funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council; I am appreciative of their financial support, and of the accompanying sabbatical provided by the Department of History at Reading. Tom Mayer and Tom Gray at Ashgate have offered friendly encouragement from the early days of this project, and provided valuable advice. A period as head of department in Reading allowed administrative matters to intrude into already precious research time, but perhaps also provided valuable insights into the machinations that might have underpinned the bureaucracy and conciliar discussions of the medieval and early modern church. The birth of my daughter, Ruth, in December 2007, presented an entirely different set of preoccupations, but for the very best of reasons. Already, at two years, she is capable of demonstrating in a multitude of ways that there are many things in life that are much more important than the history of clerical celibacy. Her response to the first complete typescript of this book was to enjoy the many possibilities for destruction and reconstruction that it afforded, but I dedicate the final product to her, in the hope that one day she will read and enjoy what follows.

Routledge Studies in the Sociology of Religion, 2023

This chapter explores the short and long-term impact of priest shortage to the quality of life for priests and future of the Roman Catholic Church as a sacerdotal church. Lay ministry to address priest shortage is inadequate and cannot substitute the indispensable role of the priest in the sacramental church. The mandatory clerical celibacy that largely contributed to this shortage can increase the pastoral workload and loneliness of parish clerics as well as deprive more faithful of clerical workload and improve the quality of life for priests and assure good future for the Catholic Church as a sacerdotal church.

In Defense of Married Priesthood, 2023

This chapter aims to set the direction of the Roman Catholic Church's decision whether to abolish or retain the current mandatory clerical celibacy for Catholic priests. The historical, political, economic, and cultural problems that greatly pressured the Catholic hierarchy to impose clerical celibacy during the Medieval period have greatly been eliminated in contemporary times. With the growing serious clerical problems associated with the current mandatory clerical celibacy such as clerical sexual abuse, loneliness, priest shortage, and spiritual sloth in the contemporary age, this chapter argues that it is now the appropriate time for the Catholic Church to amend the obligatory celibacy law in order to restore Christ' original teaching of one priesthood and optional celibacy. This chapter contains some structural recommendations on how to implement married priesthood if universally reestablished in the Catholic Church.