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

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We Catholics are so familiar with
the idea that priest is a man who
has voluntarily sacrificed all that
man holds dear in worldly relation
snip, in order thereby to be better
able to devote himself to Gods serv-
Ice. that we are apt to look upon
his celibate state as something es-
sential to his sacred character and
profession. And this is a mistaken
idea; for it is erroneous to imagine
that the fact of his priesthood of it.
self necessitates his living a single
life. Our priests in the Latin Church
have vowed themselves to celibacy;
they have, by accepting ordination,
rendered themselves forever in CAP
able of valid marriage; but this is
because the Church has made laws
to that effect. and not through any
divine decree or institution.
The practice of clerical celibacy
and the law which confirms it have
been the slow growth of centuries
and, as we shall see, they are not by
any means universal. There are
many thousands of Catholic priests
(not schismatics, but real Catholics)
who are married and are living law
fully in the married state; but this
is the case only in Eastern churches
which have ritual and a system of
legislation different from the Roman.
The uniform practice and rule of the
Latin Church" is that those who
serve the altar and who are promot-
ed to sub-deaconship shall be un-
married and shall SO remain.
The Reasons for Celibacy.
What are the reasons on account
of which the Church insists on this
rigorous and difficult rule? Roger
Gus and difficult it is, undoubtedly,
for it requires the constant repres-
sion of natural instincts and affec-
tions. The Church has imposed eel
ibacy on her clergy that they may
serve God with less restrain and with
an undivided heart. HE that is
without wife," says st. Paul, "is
solicitous for the things that belong
to the Lord, how he may please God /;
but he that is with a wife is solicit
tous for the things of the world, how
he may please his wife; and he is di-
vided."
Priests are required to practice
chastity because the state of virgin
ity is holier than that of marriage.
This does not mean that the married
state is not praiseworthy and honor
able; but our Blessed Lord Himself
tells us (and the Apostles reiterate
his teaching) that the life of those
who practice virginity is superior to
that of those who are married. The
Church has always taught the same
doctrine. Council after council has
extolled the holy state of celibacy,
and the great Council of Trent af-
firmed as matter of faith that it is
holier than marriage.
But this, while it shows that the
unmarried state is preferable and
even specially desirable for Gods
priests, does not of itself compel
them to observe it. This has been
done by direct legislation, which re-
quired several centuries to reach its
present development. The church
has imposed law of celibacy on her
ministers, but in early ages she did
not do so. During at least one-half
of her history the legislation was not
in it's present form; and even now it
is not extended to all parts of the
church's domain, and is not en-
forced in regard to all her clergy
In the earliest period of the
Church's history there was not law
restricting the marriage of the
clergy, except that Bishop was re-
quired to be "man of one wife,
that is, to have been married only
once. 1t is quite likely that several
of the Apostles were Cor had been)
married. We read in the Gospel OF
the curing of Peters mother-in-law
by our Blessed Lord-and if the
Prince of the Apostles had mother
in-law he undoubtedly had, at some
time, wife. It is supposed, how
ever, that she was dead before he
became an Apostle, as there is no
mention of her whatever in the
scriptural account of Peters life.
The first trace which we can find
of positive legislation is in the fourth
century. At the great Council of
Nice and other synods of about the
same time regulation was made
prohibiting the marriage of clerics
after ordination; but the validity of
the marriage was not denied nor as
sailed by this rule. It merely pro-
vided that the priest who contracted
it was to be deposed or degraded to
the lay state. But gradually the
sentiment of the whole Western
Church became more rigorous. 1t