The Irish standard., 1914-08-01
Why Catholic Priests Do Not Marrv

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AS said above, there are in the
Catholic Church many priests who
are married. and are not living in
opposition to the laws of God or of
the Church. These are the clergy
of several Oriental Churches which
are united to ours in faith and gov
eminent, though differing from it in
ritual and laws.
We shall not go into the details of
the legislation of the separated East
ern Churches-the schismatic sects
which have clergy and Mass and
sacramento as we have, but which
have cut themselves off from COM
mlnion with Rome. In nearly all of
these the pastors of parishes are
married men, while the members of
religious orders are not. The Bish-
ops also are generally unmarried.
In nearly all tn Oriental Churches
which are in communion with the
Roman See, marriage before receiv-
ing deaconship is not an obstacle to
that or the succeeding orders; but
marriage is not allowed afterwards.
If the candidate is not married, he
is ordained only on condition of maxi
Ing a promise to observe chastity. If
the wife of a priest dies, he is not
permitted to remarry in some
churches, while in others his second
marriage is considered valid, but
necessitates his retirement from
priestly duties.
The result of these long-es-
tablished customs in the Eastern
Churches is that the candidate for
Holy Orders. before receiving SUBJ
deaconship, usually withdraws from
the seminary and is married, after
which he returns, resumes his stud
les and receives the Major ORDERS"
Why is it that the Church has
sought to make at least the priests of
the Latin rite observe the rule of
celibacy? Because the value of the
priests ministry is thereby enhanced.
He is giving a practical lesson in
disinterestedness and self-sacrifice.
He has given up the things Of the
world which are most highly valued
by men-the love of wife and chill
dren-that he may be the better able
to devote himself to the saving of
souls. He has no earthly ties that
might conflict with his duty to his
flock. The burden which rests on
the sinners soul may be freely re-
vealed to him without fear that the
secret will be shared with the con-
fessor's wife. Pestilence has no ter
rors for the unmarried priest-he
has no family to whom the contagion
might be transmitted; and so, when
the call comes summoning him to
the sufferer from smallpox or ty-
plus, or when his duty lies in the
cholera-camp or the leper-colony, he
has no fear. He is risking nothing
but his own life, and that he has al
ready consecrated to God. And when
the quest for souls leads him into
distant pagan lands, he has an adj
ary. He takes no family with him,
to be hindrance to his work, to re-
quire support and shelter in his field
of labor; he leaves no wife and chill
dren behind him, whose welfare
would be source of anxiety while
he is far from them. If death comes
in the course of his work, whether
by accident or disease or martyrdom,
the unmarried priest does not care;
he has no earthly ties to lessen his
peace of soul-no dependents whose
future well-being would be affected
by his living or dying. He is like
a soldier Gin light marching ORDER"
carrying no encumbrances and
therefore capable of hard work in
the army of the Lord.
Is not this law difficult of observ-
ance, since it is opposed to primary
function and instinct of mans ma
ture? Is it not impossible to bind
the clergy by such rule without
leading to sins and irregularities
which are immeasureably worse than
honorable marriage would be?
These are questions which nom
Catholics of an inquirying mind will
often ask. We answer the first ques-
ton, that it is assuredly difficult.
To observe the law of priestly cell
bacy requires a strong will, a divine
vocation, a spirit of self-sacrifice,
great watchfulness, frequent and fer
vent prayer, and Gods grace. But
only the difficult things obtain much
merit or deserve much reward.
To the second question we answer
decidedly, No. 1t is not impossible,
nor even impracticable, to bind the
clergy to the unmarried state and to
keep them pure and decent. We do
not attempt to deny that abuses and
scandals have arisen-that in some