This book addresses these and fifty other confusions about the Catholic faith that are held by Catholics and other Christians as well. Drawing upon Scripture and the Catholic tradition, the author not only shows the logical errors in these positions, but clearly spells out Catholic teaching and explains the rationale behind frequently misunderstood doctrines and practices. As a sample, we present the chapter on priestly celibacy. Once ordained, though, an unmarried priest may not marry, and a married priest, if widowed, may not remarry.
Marriage is possible only for priests in the Eastern Rites.
All monks in the East are celibate, and Eastern Rite bishops are always chosen from the ranks of the monks, which means all Eastern Rite bishops are unmarried. In the West, of course, the rule has been different. In the early centuries priests and bishops could be married the practices in the West and East were the same but celibacy was soon preferred, and eventually it became mandatory. By the early Middle Ages, the rule of celibacy, in the Latin or Western Rite, was firmly in place. Note that this was a disciplinary rule, not a doctrine.