Archbishop of Sydney

Unmarried Priests (A)

By + Cardinal George Pell
Archbishop of Sydney
7/5/2006

In 1990 there was a Rome meeting of bishops from around the world on how best to prepare Catholic priests.  As always a large contingent of the press was present, many ex-priests, who wanted to allow priests to be married.  They waged a strong campaign.

One bishop pointed out that at future synods, even if the theme was agriculture, there would still be pressure for a married clergy!

There are different groups or rites in the Catholic Church e.g., Maronite, Ukrainian, Chaldean, Melchite, but most Catholics belong to the Latin rite where the general rule is that priests must be unmarried i.e. be celibate and refrain from sexual activity.

Eastern rite Catholics do have married priests, like the Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant churches.  Therefore a married clergy is not like a dog walking on its hind legs!  In many places it is common, and even in the Latin Church for more than 1000 years there were married priests, although from the fourth century onwards priests were urged not to sleep with their wives.  Theologians interpreted St. Paul’s injunction that a priest should have one wife to mean that his wife should be the Church!  This is paralleled by the Orthodox tradition today that their bishops cannot be married.

Why did the Western Church tighten its discipline in the reform movements of 11-12th centuries to require all its priests to be unmarried?  Why do the Pope and most bishops support maintaining this policy today?

Is this another example of senior clergy who are hostile to pleasure and afraid of sex?  Does it manifest an hostility to marriage and family life?  Does it show that most Catholic priests are homosexually inclined, so that not marrying is no sacrifice?  Is a life time of sexual inactivity unnatural and therefore a major cause of the scandal of clergy pedophilia?

These are serious questions needing answers.  But before attempting to make a positive case for clerical celibacy, we should note that statistics show that marriage is no preventative against pedophilia.  Ninety percent of pedophile crimes are committed by married men, while there are no statistics to demonstrate that most priests are homosexually oriented, much less that they are homosexually active.  Some of those who claim otherwise are too much influenced by their own circle of acquaintances.

During the Dark Ages there was much clerical corruption and neglect of the people.  Benedictine monks, especially from Cluny in France started a wonderful reformation, which a renewed papacy supported and compulsory celibacy was both a consequence and cause of this renewal.  The Normans too were supporters and the first universities developed then.

No one is forced to become a priest.  This commitment to life-long celibacy is a free choice after at least six years of trial and preparation and cannot be taken before the age of 23.

Next week we shall examine the religious rationale for such a choice.