Although married men may become priests, unmarried priests may not marry; and married priests, if widowed, may not remarry. Moreover, there is an ancient Eastern discipline of choosing bishops from the ranks of the celibate monks, so their bishops are all unmarried. The tradition in the Western or Latin-Rite Church has been for priests as well as bishops to take vows of celibacy, a rule that has been firmly in place since the early Middle Ages.
Even today, though, exceptions are made. For example, there are married Latin-Rite priests who are converts from Lutheranism and Episcopalianism. As these variations and exceptions indicate, priestly celibacy is not an unchangeable dogma but a disciplinary rule. The fact that Peter was married is no more contrary to the Catholic faith than the fact that the pastor of the nearest Maronite Catholic church is married.
All of this is false. Although most people are called to the married state, the vocation of celibacy is explicitly advocated—as well as practiced—by both Jesus and Paul. But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. Do not seek marriage. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of God.
Other people are called to marriage. Celibacy is neither unnatural nor unbiblical. Otherwise, every unmarried man and woman of marrying age would be in a state of sin by remaining single, and Jesus and Paul would be guilty of advocating sin as well as committing it.
Another Protestant argument, related to the last, is that marriage is mandatory for Church leaders. When joining a cloister, they do vow themselves to God. They actually make this vow in a ceremony which is very similar, but just not quite an actual wedding. But they are guidelines — not requirements. The Priest could well confess, and be absolved of their sin, in this case the transgression of their vow of celibacy.
And conveniently, they could go to a fellow Priest for this ministry. And further, the confessional seal is almost completely private and sacrosanct. Pope Francis has confessed that he fell in love with a girl that he met when he was training to be a priest.
The consequences of falling in love with a priest 1 Filed under: Newsletter — Comments. Skip to content Bible Catholics Talk about God. Catholics 0. But the majority still maintains to keep their vow and love God the way they were taught. Many priests start having self-doubts whether they will be able to persist with their celibacy. They still have urges just like everyone else.
Instead of being inappropriate in a confessional, they treat the urge as a gift of God, which, if you are a person of faith, it is. That is, they acknowledge the urge, but they decide not to act on it. Once the urge goes away, they feel like their devotion to God is stronger than it used to be.
Celibacy, in essence, is a mental thing just as much as it is a physical thing if not more so. Main Menu. Chastity Is Different From Celibacy Although chastity and celibacy are somewhat related terms, they do not mean the same thing.
What Is Priestly Celibacy? How Do They Cope? Related Post. The True Love Bra.
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