A Scandal Called Priestly Celibacy, by Joe Borg, Times of Malta, August 8 2010

A Scandal Called Priestly Celibacy

By Joe Borg
Times of Malta
August 8 2010

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100808/religion/a-scandal-called-priestly-celibacy

Celibacy is a way for the priest to become more united with Christ and his mission.

For a growing number of people in our culture, celibacy is a waste of time and a waste of one’s life. How can one wish to be celibate in a culture which opts for hedonism and instant gratification as a basic value? Others take a more radical position, considering celibacy as a perversion.

For others, celibacy – the mandatory celibacy of priests and religious, and not celibacy per se – is at the root of several of the Church’s problems. The diminishing number of priestly vocations is blamed on mandatory celibacy. Even paedophilia is caused, in their estimation, by the celibate way of living expected from priests.

Take away compulsory celibacy and the Church would solve these thorny problems, they think. As if married priests would be shielded from the problems that harass other married people – infidelity, adultery, family quarrels, and so on.

Others consider celibacy as a scandal. The word scandal is not used here to mean a disgraceful action that damages the reputation of whoever does it, or of an institution whose members commit shameful actions.

A different meaning of the word scandal is used here. It is an action that radically challenges the dominant cultural mentality and becomes a sign of contradiction and negative admiration for the same culture. Christ was such a sign of contradiction and therefore a scandal, as St Paul, among others, attests.

On June 10, the Pope referred to this “scandalous” aspect of celibacy during the late-night vigil concluding the Year of Priests. A Slovakian priest asked the Pope to “enlighten us about the wisdom and the authentic meaning of ecclesial celibacy”.

Unfortunately, I was not present for the celebration; however, priests who were there told me it was an electrifying and edifying celebration. It ended at midnight, but they wanted it to keep on going. Like Peter on Mount Tabor they wished to keep on prolonging that extraordinary moment of grace.

During the vigil the Pope took a number of questions and answered them in his masterly style. Regarding the question of the Slovakian priest, the Pope accepted that:

“It is true that for the agnostic world, the world in which God does not enter, celibacy is a great scandal precisely because it demonstrates that God is considered and lived as a reality.”

This “scandalous” dimension points towards the core value of celibacy. Priestly celibacy is a way for the priest to become more united with Christ and his mission, in an anticipation of “the world of the resurrection”.

Benedict said that through celibacy the priest is pulled forward toward “the new and true life” of the future. “Celibacy, as the criticisms themselves show, is a great sign of faith, of the presence of God in the world.”

The commitment for celibacy is therefore a public manifestation in the belief in the future world. It is, in a certain sense, the actualisation in present time of our way of being in the Father’s bosom for eternity.

It is difficult to live celibacy in the fullness of its meaning, as it is difficult to live, for example, the virtues of humility, charity, obedience, compassion and justice.

The prayers and support of the Christian community, especially in moments of difficulty and, more so, in moments of failure, should be another sign that the Church is not just a human organisation but the family of the children of God striving today towards the fullness of life that we will eventually live tomorrow.

Contact: joseph.borg@um.edu.mt