Can you help me help him?
Thanks,
A Catholic in Utah! Rich
From my friend: 1 Timothy 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; 12 Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.
If bishops, apostles and Deacons can have one wife... why not priests which are a lesser office? The apostle is the highest of callings (at lest according to the scriptures) and if they can be married why not priests and nuns. It's purely a manmade doctrine and has caused many RC priests to stumble in sin and bring bad publicity to their church. Paul explains...
1 Corinthians 7:9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.
Mike
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Dear Rich,
Sorry I am so slow getting back. Catholics in Utah need all the support they can get. Have you read the excellent article on celibacy at Catholic Anwers?
Also, on a much less sophisicated level, I have homily titled Why Don't Priests Get Marry?
Let me know if any of this helps. The important thing to keep in mind in this discussion is that all Christians are called to chastity, altho almost all of us fall short of its demands. Still some are given a special charism of celibacy, to renounce marriage for the sake of the Kingdom of God. From among them the Latin Church chooses her priests. I am on our seminarian review committee and of course one of the things we look for in recommending a candidate to the Archbishop is that they have demonstrated not only a desire, but an ability to live celibacy.
God bless,
Fr. Phil Bloom