JPII: Sexual balance and celibacy examinations

[Heresson]

Originally posted by Asher

You really think this will do anything?

Yes. Of course, it will not eliminate the problem,
but at least priests will be aware of the problem.
It's important.

[Odin]

Haven't you catholics figured out yet that getting rid of celibacy will fix the problem?

[Heresson]

Definitely it would have been easier without it.
But it's not about what's easier, but about what's right.

[Odin]

Originally posted by Heresson
Definitely it would have been easier without it.
But it's not about what's easier, but about what's right.

there is nothing in the bible prohibiting pastors from getting married.

[Heresson]

there is.

[Provost Harrison]

No there isn't, priesthood celibacy came a lot later than the beginnings of the church...do your research...

[Heresson]

No. It was accepted as a RULE later on, but it was discussed and done by many from the beginning

[Thucydides]

Originally posted by Heresson


The church was always against castration.
ANd a priest should have all the parts of the body intact.

I'll have to find the article, but I do remember reading about the Church castrated young boys before their voice cracked so they could maintain their Soprano pitches. Now this was a few centuries ago and of course didn't apply to priests, but certainly you can't say that the Church was always against castration.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Actually there were good reasons for celibacy at the time. Inheritance and church property don't mix very well. The solution has been thought of, however, in having the church own the land and the priest merely 'rents' it.

[Heresson]

It's a simplicistic way of thinking.
it was one of the least important factors.
Why can't people understand that these people actually believed in God and in church tradition?

[Ted Striker]

Just let them get it on.

[OzzyKP]

Originally posted by Shi Huangdi
I'm glad to see they are taking more efforts to stop pedophiles from joining the priesthood.

From what I've read, they've actually been successful for like 20 years now. Of all the abuse cases that have come to light, like 95% of them are from priests ordained in hte 60s or 70s or earlier. New priests seem to be behaving themselves more or less.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Heresson
Why can't people understand that these people actually believed in God and in church tradition?

Because beliving in God have little to do with it. It isn't in the Bible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clerical_celibacy

Neither the Catholic nor the Orthodox church has ever considered celibacy rules to be among the infallible dogmas of the church. Rather, those rules are considered mutable by popes, councils, patriarchs, or synods. The popes have altered the celibacy rules in the Catholic church a number of times.

Furthermore, the Jews have NO idea of celebacy among their rabbis and they do follow the Old Testament. While some passages in the New Testament speak to how chastity is good, nothing says that true believers should be chaste.

--

it was one of the least important factors.

Au contraire. The reason that celibacy was so greatly reinforced after the Papal Revolution of Gregory VII was because of inheritance issues. Children of priests (who were not following any mandate of chastity, seeing as how the Pope was not head of the entire Christian Church in those years) were inheriting Church land and dividing up that land.

[Proteus_MST]

Reminds me of the Joke with the thre wanderers who want to stay overnight in a nuns monastery.
The Superior says O.K., but each of the guys would first have to pass a test.
Every one of them gets a small bell, bound onto his penis and has to walk along the row of 100 naked nuns.
If the bell doesn´t ring, he will be allowed to sleep in the monastery.
The first wanderer walks along the row, but after the 10st nun his bell rings.
The second wanderer walks, passes the 10st nun, but finally, after passing the 58 nun his bell rings, too.
Then the third wanderer tries it, walks past the 10st nun the 20st and is really able pass the whjole 100 nuns without the bell ringing.
So the superior allows him to stay at the monastery, but tells him that he has to sleep in the same room as the janitor (the only male person in the monastery)
Suddenly his bell rings

[Heresson]

You're wrong. Celibacy was part of moral renewal of clergy rather than economic "investition".
In Socrates Scholasticus I've read about an Egyptian council that wanted to establish compulsory celibacy, and it was in late antiquity.
Rabbis are irrelevant for the church.