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Why Catholic Priests Can't Marry (at Least for Now)
https://www.livescience.com/39898-why-catholic-priests-cant-marry.html
Yes, deeply rooted in tradition... Priests are presumed to have committed to be married to the church... here are some snippets from this 2013 article. Note: the church remains divided on this tradition/practice, and remains hopeful that this Pope will make changes...
"Those who are happy with the current rules say priestly celibacy allows priests time and energy to focus completely on their flock and to emulate Jesus, who was unmarried, more faithfully."
"From a spiritual perspective, priests are called to act as another Christ, which includes his celibate lifestyle.
Married to the church"
"The roots of celibacy requirements go back to Jesus Christ: According to the Bible, he was an unmarried virgin. In the Bible, Jesus is often likened to a bridegroom whose bride is the Church."
"Many of the early martyrs and church fathers emulated his life of chastity."
https://www.livescience.com/39898-why-catholic-priests-cant-marry.html
Yes, deeply rooted in tradition... Priests are presumed to have committed to be married to the church... here are some snippets from this 2013 article. Note: the church remains divided on this tradition/practice, and remains hopeful that this Pope will make changes...
"Those who are happy with the current rules say priestly celibacy allows priests time and energy to focus completely on their flock and to emulate Jesus, who was unmarried, more faithfully."
"From a spiritual perspective, priests are called to act as another Christ, which includes his celibate lifestyle.
Married to the church"
"The roots of celibacy requirements go back to Jesus Christ: According to the Bible, he was an unmarried virgin. In the Bible, Jesus is often likened to a bridegroom whose bride is the Church."
"Many of the early martyrs and church fathers emulated his life of chastity."
You're right - that's part of it. I think I Cor 7: 8-9. The practice was really more about being chaste like Jesus. Jesus lived a celibate life and was even referred to as a eunuch in Matthew but I think that was probably metaphorical. Many of his disciples were also and I think the reasoning had a lot to do with many pre christian - like druid priests - remaining celibate and the practice was something of a tradition. It was adopted at the council of Trent when the church was about a thousand years old and it's ALWAYS been a problem. I think the Pope's reaction to this - like the inference it's information he's just now hearing about - was disingenuous at best. It's been a problem since it was adopted.
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Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.” Matthew 19:11-12
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In fact 1 Cor 7 is a perfectly good reason NOT to forbid marriage between male and female Christians who desire to please the Lord together. I could go on and on. Priests should be of one wife...
Ps. 127 v 3) Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. 4) Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. 5)Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.
Ps. 127 v 3) Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. 4) Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. 5)Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.
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Continued: 1st Corinth 7 vs 2; "but since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband." It goes on about fulfilling our sexual duties and yielding to each other and not to deprive one another without mutual consent,for a time, for prayer..
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Absolutely AGREE and TRUE... There are NO EXCUSES... and while the majority of society do not commit such acts; the reciprocal is also true: a minority of society are guilty of such evil sin...
While all humans are inherently sinners; such evil sins - while not the norm - are prevalent across society...
It is very unsettling and sad to know that NO perceived human institutional sanctuary is sacred beyond reproach of such sin...
Evil lurks where evil lurks...
While all humans are inherently sinners; such evil sins - while not the norm - are prevalent across society...
It is very unsettling and sad to know that NO perceived human institutional sanctuary is sacred beyond reproach of such sin...
Evil lurks where evil lurks...
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German Catholic Church reveals scale of sexual abuse
The scope of sex abuse within Germany's Catholic Church has been laid out for all to see following a four-year investigation. Head bishop Cardinal Reinhard Marx admitted that the church has lost public trust.
Report details widespread sexual abuse by German priests
The German Catholic Church was forced to confront decades of sexual abuse allegations with the presentation of a large-scale investigation at the autumn full assembly of the German Bishops' Conference in Fulda.
The scope of abuse against minors, revealed in the study presented in a press conference on Tuesday, has prompted senior clergy members to call for extensive church reforms, such as allowing bishops and priests and marry.
What does the "Study on the Sexual Abuse of Minors by Clergy" uncover?
The report, commissioned by the German Bishops' Conference back in 2014, finds that:
Germany's catholic Shame
'Just the tip of the iceberg'
Federal Justice Minister Katarina Barley described the study as "shocking and probably just the tip of the iceberg." She urged the church to "take responsibility for decades of concealment, cover-ups and denials" by working with state prosecutors in bringing every case in the report to justice.
Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the Archbishop of Munich and chairman of the German Bishop's Conference, described the publication of clerical abuse as a turning point for the church, which now desperately needed to rebuild trust with the public. "Many people no longer believe in us," he said as he opened the second day of the conference on Tuesday.
Johannes-Wilhelm Rörig, the German government-appointed special representative for sexual abuse of minors, insisted that the church pay compensation to victims who are "still suffering from this open wound." The church should also grant authorities access to its archives so that each allegation can be investigated on a criminal basis, he added.
Jörg Schuh, head of the Berlin-based Tauwetter center for sexual abuse victims, said what happened in Germany was part of a global problem facing the Catholic Church. "I would like the Pope to make it his No. 1 topic, and for his church to really work on it," he said.
A long time coming: Although it's been almost a decade since the first instance of sexual abuse was uncovered in Germany, critics say the church has been slow to restructure the hierarchical systems that allowed these crimes to go unreported for years. Other countries that saw widespread clerical abuse — such as the US, Chile and Australia— have all launched criminal investigations, even if several priests escaped serious punishment.
Read more: Opinion: Pope Francis and the Catholic Church's moral bankruptcy
Notable scandals: One of the largest abuse cases to rock Germany was that of an elite Jesuit school in Berlin where two priests systematically abused pupils in the 1970s and 1980s. Last year it emerged that more than 500 boys at the world-famous Regensburger Domspatzen Catholic choir schoolsuffered sexual and physical abuse. Georg Ratzinger, the brother of former Pope Benedict XVI, led the choir from 1964 to 1994 but insisted he was never aware of any abuse going on.
Time for reform? The Catholic Church is under pressure to introduce concrete reforms in response to the report's findings, particularly when it comes to sexual morality among clergy members. Potential changes being discussed include the abolition of celibacy and allowing priests to marry. The church is expected to announce what reforms it's willing to make by the end of Bishop's Conference in the German city of Fulda on Thursday.
The scope of sex abuse within Germany's Catholic Church has been laid out for all to see following a four-year investigation. Head bishop Cardinal Reinhard Marx admitted that the church has lost public trust.
Report details widespread sexual abuse by German priests
The German Catholic Church was forced to confront decades of sexual abuse allegations with the presentation of a large-scale investigation at the autumn full assembly of the German Bishops' Conference in Fulda.
The scope of abuse against minors, revealed in the study presented in a press conference on Tuesday, has prompted senior clergy members to call for extensive church reforms, such as allowing bishops and priests and marry.
What does the "Study on the Sexual Abuse of Minors by Clergy" uncover?
The report, commissioned by the German Bishops' Conference back in 2014, finds that:
- Some 1,670 clerics, mostly priests, were found to have committed sexual abuse between 1946 and 2014 — around 4.4 percent of all serving clerics within that period.
- There were at least 3,677 individual victims, most of whom were boys, and all were minors.
- One in six incidents related to accusations of rape.
- Sixty percent of the time, abusive priests escaped punishment.
- The total number of abuse cases is likely to be far greater. The report's author has criticized the church for denying him access to other Catholic institutions, such as schools and children's homes.
- Many predatory priests were simply moved to other parishes once their crimes were uncovered by the church. Communities were never informed of the priest's previous crimes.
Germany's catholic Shame
'Just the tip of the iceberg'
Federal Justice Minister Katarina Barley described the study as "shocking and probably just the tip of the iceberg." She urged the church to "take responsibility for decades of concealment, cover-ups and denials" by working with state prosecutors in bringing every case in the report to justice.
Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the Archbishop of Munich and chairman of the German Bishop's Conference, described the publication of clerical abuse as a turning point for the church, which now desperately needed to rebuild trust with the public. "Many people no longer believe in us," he said as he opened the second day of the conference on Tuesday.
Johannes-Wilhelm Rörig, the German government-appointed special representative for sexual abuse of minors, insisted that the church pay compensation to victims who are "still suffering from this open wound." The church should also grant authorities access to its archives so that each allegation can be investigated on a criminal basis, he added.
Jörg Schuh, head of the Berlin-based Tauwetter center for sexual abuse victims, said what happened in Germany was part of a global problem facing the Catholic Church. "I would like the Pope to make it his No. 1 topic, and for his church to really work on it," he said.
A long time coming: Although it's been almost a decade since the first instance of sexual abuse was uncovered in Germany, critics say the church has been slow to restructure the hierarchical systems that allowed these crimes to go unreported for years. Other countries that saw widespread clerical abuse — such as the US, Chile and Australia— have all launched criminal investigations, even if several priests escaped serious punishment.
Read more: Opinion: Pope Francis and the Catholic Church's moral bankruptcy
Notable scandals: One of the largest abuse cases to rock Germany was that of an elite Jesuit school in Berlin where two priests systematically abused pupils in the 1970s and 1980s. Last year it emerged that more than 500 boys at the world-famous Regensburger Domspatzen Catholic choir schoolsuffered sexual and physical abuse. Georg Ratzinger, the brother of former Pope Benedict XVI, led the choir from 1964 to 1994 but insisted he was never aware of any abuse going on.
Time for reform? The Catholic Church is under pressure to introduce concrete reforms in response to the report's findings, particularly when it comes to sexual morality among clergy members. Potential changes being discussed include the abolition of celibacy and allowing priests to marry. The church is expected to announce what reforms it's willing to make by the end of Bishop's Conference in the German city of Fulda on Thursday.
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M
I don’t understand how catholic’s can continue to attend an”organisation”
with so much instutionalised abuse going on.
Surely people will see this is just wrong. How can catholic’s ever trust their
church or even their own local priest?
I suppose many will think “it won’t happen in my church” but how do they
know that when it’s gets hidden and hushed up.
Even if their own priest hasn’t dont anything like this, I wonder how many of them
have been aware it goes on and said nothing.
How can catholic priests continue to work for an institution which does not do
anything about it. How can they get up and preach on Sundays about sin and
love thy neighbour etc, while they work under such institutional hypocrisy.
It would be interesting to know how many priests have left the Catholic Church.
Not those thrown out but those who have left as they disagree with what is
going on and cannot in good conscious remain part of the Catholic Church.
with so much instutionalised abuse going on.
Surely people will see this is just wrong. How can catholic’s ever trust their
church or even their own local priest?
I suppose many will think “it won’t happen in my church” but how do they
know that when it’s gets hidden and hushed up.
Even if their own priest hasn’t dont anything like this, I wonder how many of them
have been aware it goes on and said nothing.
How can catholic priests continue to work for an institution which does not do
anything about it. How can they get up and preach on Sundays about sin and
love thy neighbour etc, while they work under such institutional hypocrisy.
It would be interesting to know how many priests have left the Catholic Church.
Not those thrown out but those who have left as they disagree with what is
going on and cannot in good conscious remain part of the Catholic Church.
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