“WE FORCE the priests to become celibates but we don’t force the people to become priests.”
Fr. Raul Go, a priest from the Archdiocese of Cebu, had this to say regarding celibacy. According to him, when one chooses to be a priest, one should consider the obligation that goes with the privilege of becoming one. And one of the consequences of the decision is celibacy.
Celibacy refers to one’s promise to forego the privilege of getting married and having his own children, something accepted by every faithful of the Catholic Church since baptism.
But lately, it has been subjected to scrutiny as a result of high-profile sex scandals that have rocked the Church. Because of the infamy certain men in white sotanes have reaped, celibacy as an institution is now in serious question.
History
Clerical celibacy is an obligatory law of the Church, imposed with a view to the dignity and duties of the priesthood.
The earliest law enforcing celibacy was passed by the Council of Elvira in Spain (Code of Canon Law, General Decrees and Instruction, Canon 33) in around 300 A.D. Bishops, priests, and deacons were to be deposed if they lived with their wives and begot children after their ordination. A Roman Council under Pope Siricius (384-399 A.D.), who wrote letters to Spain and Africa insisting upon the observance of celibacy, enacted a similar decree.
A few years later Pope Innocent I (402-417 A.D.) wrote similar letters to Bishops Victricius of Rouen and Exuperius of Toulouse. By the time of Leo the Great (440-461 A.D.), the law of clerical celibacy had been obligatory throughout the West.
The Eastern Churches followed a less strict line of development. The Council of Ancyra (Code of Canon Law, Ecclesiastical Laws, Canon 10) in Galatia permitted deacons to marry, if before their ordination they declared their intention of not leading a life of celibacy. The Council of Neo-Caesarea (Code of Canon Law, Ecclesiastical Laws, Canon 7) in Cappadocia forbade priests to contract a new marriage under penalty of deposition. The Council of Nicea, however, refrained from passing any law of celibacy, but forbade the clergy to have in their convents any woman who might excite suspicion about their morals; mothers, sisters and other relatives were exempted from the rule (Code of Canon Law, General Norms, Canon 3). The Apostolic Constitutions forbade bishops, priests and deacons to marry after their ordination but permitted them to keep their wives. The sixth canon indeed, forbade bishops and priests to put away their wives “under pretext of piety.”
The custom of insisting upon a celibate episcopate in the East became a law under the Emperor Justinian (527-565 A.D.). Likewise, the custom of allowing priests and deacons to live with the wives they married before ordination became general about the middle of the seventh century, and was solemnly sanctioned by the Council of Trullo in 692 A.D..
Different rules
The Latin Rite and the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church follow different rules with respect to celibacy. In the Latin Rite, married men may be ordained to the deaconate, but not to the priesthood and episcopate. Marriage after ordination to any of the three orders is both illicit and invalid. The Church can grant a dispensation allowing those who have been ordained to marry.
However, Canon Law requires that a person who has been granted a dispensation to marry after ordination be “laicized,” meaning that he will no longer be allowed to exercise any of the functions of Holy Orders.
In recent times, there have been exceptions to the Latin law of celibacy. An increasing number of married non-Catholic priest and ministers who have converted to Catholicism and have sought to become priests have been granted special permission to be ordained as Roman Catholic priests in North America and Europe.
In general, the Eastern Catholic Rites follow a different tradition from that of the Latin Rite. In the Eastern Rites, married men may be ordained both to the deaconate and the priesthood, but not to the episcopate. However, widowers may become bishops. No marriage is allowed after ordination to any of the three orders.
Thomasian perspective
Victor Emmanuel Queyquep, a 2nd year Electronic and Communications Engineering student from the Faculty of Engineering, believes that the rule of priestly celibacy needs to be re-evaluated.
“As someone who grew up in institutions with a Catholic set-up from preparatory school up to college, I had moments of realization about the vocation priests around me had to embrace. I have to admit that I once dreamt of being a priest, and if given the chance, I would still ant to be one, but with one condition—that I’ll be allowed to have my family,” Queyquep said.
Queyquep, bearing Christian ideals, has a very special concept about family. “Life is about growing up, becoming old, and having a family. Life has no meaning if you don’t have kids. A family is a gift. Priests may be included in the higher social stature, but we should not forget that they are still ordinary human beings like us, deserves to have,” Queyquep added.
On the other hand, Fleurdeliz Altez, a Philosophy senior from the Faculty of Arts and Letters and a member of AB Pax Romana, believes in celibacy among priests. “It is something for priests to live up to and fight for. It is their choice that makes them exceptional in the society. And I look up to them for that,” Altez said.
She also stressed that celibacy is what sets priests apart from other preachers. Just like Jesus Christ, celibate priests have their time solely dedicated to their people. And time for guidance is what every Catholic faithful needs in times of tragedies and distress.
Literally growing up within a church and having been an acolyte for years in their church in Bicol, Francis Tordilla, a senior Theology student, has high respect for the vocation and lifestyle of priests.
“When I entered the seminary in 1994, I had a minimal concept of celibacy. All I knew is that priest do not marry,” Tordilla said.
He believes that celibacy is only right for the priesthood. Once a man enters the seminary, whatever motives he may have, they are purified in process, Tordilla said. He admitted that during formation, there will surely be times the seminarians will have doubts and questions about their vocation.
“Sometimes celibacy is scary. I’ve asked myself before, ’Could you live with this life?’ Pero once I thought about other devoted priests I know, I’ll just eventually tell myself, nakaya nga ng marami, bakit hindi ko makakaya?” Tordilla said.
“I had a girlfriend once,” Tordilla confessed. That was during the time when I had the dilemma. Could I really live without a companion in my life?”
But Tordilla said he eventually chose his vocation over the girl. “We both talked about it. Being my friend, she knew that I am a seminarian. And that’s the good thing about it. After parting ways, we remain friends until now,” he said.
The experience taught Tordilla that celibacy does not really mean abstinence or self-denial. “Celibacy is another form of loving,” he said.
John Perez, a Theology freshman, considers celibacy a personal gift from God. It should be treasured because not all are called and chosen, he explained.
According to him, a priest cannot be married because he had a promise made to God upon ordination: to consecrate his life solely to Him.
“You cannot serve two masters at the same time, ika nga. Sa dami ng trabaho ng isang pari, ang pagkakaroon ng pamilya samantalang ikaw ay isang pari ay parang isang malaking kahibangan,” Perez said.
However, Perez expressed mixed emotions with the way the society reacts to every sexual scandal involving the Church. “Natutuwa ako dahil alam ko na ngayon na aware din pala ang society sa Church niya. Kaya nga lang in a wrong manner,” he said.
He further said that society, particularly the mass media, has a tendency to go overboard. “Minsan sumosobra, lalo with the kind of exposition they’re making. Grabe sila (media) kung manghamak. It will really put you down.”
But Perez urged the Church hierarchy to wake up. “Maybe nagkaroon ng laxity ang Church at hinayaan niyang magkaroon ng ganito (scandals). And now is the time to solve serious problems if there are any, lalo na’t maugong (ang isyu) ngayon,” Perez said.
A priest’s confession
Currently finishing his licentiate of canon law in the Faculty of Canon Law, Fr. Go reveals his deep concern for the Church especially at a time when it is rocked by allegations of sexual misdemeanors, homosexuality, and even pedophilia.
“I believe that celibacy is a gift. It is a vocation and sometimes we consider celibacy as a gift that goes with becoming a priest. One may have the vocation to be a good preacher, but he may have weakness with the relationship with the opposite sex,” Fr. Raul said.
Fr. Raul said that he does not agree with abolishing celibacy. He said what the church should do is to prepare the candidates to embrace the rule.
“The vow of celibacy was already there even before I entered the seminary. So if one would want himself to become a priest, he would rather tell himself kung kaya ba niya o hindi. I would not go for optional celibacy. I would still prefer that it still obligatory. Those involved in the formation, the seminary and the religious, should emphasize that celibacy is a separate vocation,” he said.
Fr. Go said there are practical reasons for celibacy to continue.
“To be a celibate means freedom to accept any job to any parts of the world. Unlike kung may pamilya ka, you have to have a lot of considerations–your role as father to your children, as a husband to your wife, and as a spiritual leader to your community,” he said.
Amid the high expectations and grave doubts of society, the decision of entering priesthood and living a celibate life is a personal choice. On a deeper level, it is an acceptance of one’s calling. Inevitably, it is an intensely personal experience whose richness and validity the priest can only reaffirm, whatever society says.
So, why can’t priests marry? There could only be one answer: because once he has been ordained, he’s already wedded to the Church.
