Of course, there is a sense in which the church and the world are separate. The goal of the church is to present and embody the ideals of the gospel and thereby to transform society. It is that celibacy legally imposed as a condition of presbyteral ministry, making Holy Orders an invalidating impediment to Christian marriage, misrepresents the relationship between the world and the Christian by symbolizing a radical dichotomy between world and church, a complete otherness. By doing this it underlines and reinforces the division between church and world. This was the goal of the Gregorian reformers and we have not yet been able to rise above it.
Mandatory celibacy is a symbolic barricade between church and world.
Dr. Biechler, an emeritus professor of religion, is a member of ARCC's board of directors. He also holds a licentiate in canon law and is a longtime member of the Canon Law Society of America.