Rutland herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1823-1847, 1842-07-05
THE PoPH,s CORNER.
Celibacy of the Clergy.

CelibacY of the Clergy.
Every body knows that the church of Rome for
bids the clergy to marry but does every body know
the reason given for this prohibitionl 1t is this
that The priests may hve more holy and cOnsecrated
ltves And for the reason they get together
a number ofyoung ladies and shut them up for life
with free intercourse with the priests in nunneGes,
that they too may live more holy. But unless truth
is greatly departed from history and in the narra
tion of common circumstances they lead most scan
dalous lives in those institutions Out of convents,
TOO, the priests have to great exept for ages been
remarkable for easy virtue. 1t is very odd indeed
that priest cannot live holy in lawful relation
ship with woman, according to the appointment
of God himself, as he can in an unlawful relation
with many Here is greater oversight in Gods
calculations than we generally expect to find; but
as the church is nfallible and has so decreed we
suppose it must be considered an oversight. One
thing is certan-Chrst and the pope exactly differ
about this liberty granted to the priests fol the for
mer expressly lorbids eUen the thoughts of all such
conduct, but the latter has granted them the priv-
lege of keeping mistress, and compelled them to
pay yearly tax to the church for it. 1t is true
many Of the priests complained about paying this
tax declaring that they did not wish TO avail them
selves of the privilege; but the nfalble pope told
them they might keep a mistress if they pleased,
but should pay the lax at any rate. Now, all this
is thought TO be perfectly consistent with holiness,
but for priest to marry" says one of the popes,
lis a shocking and wicked thing very great OF
stacle in the way Of holy living. The Creator ap-
pears to have thought it would greatly aid Man in
fulfilling his high destiny to provide him mate
exactly adapted to his nature and circumstances
So he provided him one, instituted the ordinance Of
marriage, and said 1t was both honorable and law
full for all to enter that state Nothing is said about
debarring the clergy, or any body else The Levitt
cal priesthood, under the Old covenant were allow
ed TO have wives and so the apostles under the
New. 1t has been a matter of great argument a
mong dvines whether Paul was married or not and
we believe it is generally thought he was. AT any
rate he says he was at liberty to have a wife, anc
writes most pointedy in favor ofmatrimony. If We
rightly understand him, he several times intimaes
pretty plainly that men would lead much more cor
rect lives in the marriage than otherwise, ant
from what we know of human nature we are inclin
cd to the same opinion; and if advantage arises tc
one man we know why it would not to another, sine,
all men essentially alike. We hardly think til,
priests are SO very much alarmed about imbibinl
unholy passions as tdeypretend for in'sis instance
since they manifest no particular concern aUvu. =.
in others.
There is one very great difficulty between Peter
and the priests about marimony. They all say he
was the head of the church and the first of the cer
gy /; but Peter had wife, as is evident from Matt
g. Id. Sand when Jesus was come into Peters
house. he saw his tUife'S mother laid and sick of
fever" Now it seems strange that Christ SHOULD
have chosen Peter for his vice-gerent on earth, ex
allied him to the head ofthe church, and given hin
power in heaven and earth, when he not only had
tOife, but was also remarkable an exceedingly
passionate man He seems TO have been o
those sanguine, ardent temperaments who wa
very apt to act under the impulses of the moment
and was thus more than once led into wickedness
We rather suspect Christ thought it would be al
excellent plan, all things considered. for Peter L
continue to live with his wife even after he tcd
pope, for he says nothing to the contrary. Doubt
less it would have some good effect upon tho presen
pope and the clergy nowadays if they all had goo
wives too.
The Romish church was aware that it would nc
answer to hold the doctrine of the cebacy of tn
clergy while so bold an alluson was made in tn
Bible 10 the tOife Of Pope Peter. Something mu:
be done to get her out of the way at Ho'
do you think they did it. Why they served he
pretty much as they did the craven images spoke
of in the Decalogue In one case they expunge
the whole passage from the Bible in the other, the
mended it by substituting the words Peters motht
in-la,o' in place of" Peter's ,ofes mother" So Il
Catholic bible reads the verse thus, "And when j
sus was come into Peters house he saw his mothe
IN ldV laid and sick Of fever. They twill have
mend this verse again and have it read, "Peter
Step-mOther" for mans mother-in-law is usual
understood to mean, his wile's mother When the
sentiments don't agree with the Bible all that Il
Catholics have to do, is, just to draw pen aero
obnoxious passages, or nterline, or substitute OF
word for another. All is smooth work then.