Apl Position Paper Not Done

Why Catholic Church Should Reconsider and Change the Discipline on Celibacy?
by: Aldrin P. Luces
The celibacy of the Catholic priests is a subject that is very much discussed today. On
October 6, 2019, Pope Francis formally opened a meeting of bishops that will debate whether the
Catholic Church should loosen its 1,000-year-old requirement of celibacy for priests (Rocca,
2019). According to Wilson (2017), it is arguably the most controversial topic in our Church
history for the idea of allowing married men to become priests would be a return to, rather than a
break from, early Christian tradition.
Schaetzel (2019) stated that in early Christian history, being a celibate priest is an
intentional state of not being married or having sexual relationship. For the first thousand years, it
was not uncommon for priests to have families. The first pope, St. Peter, was a married man; many
early popes had children who also became popes. In fact, St. Paul, one of the early Christian
leaders, elaborated that married priests are permitted but not preferred.
Up to now, celibacy of priests in the world is not a comprehensive tradition. In the Eastern
and Latin rites of the Church it is common for married men to be ordained to the priesthood and
there are few married men, converted ministers from other faiths, who are ordained of the Catholic
priesthood respectively (Keating, 2019). In the Philippines, about 60 married priests who are now
living with their respective families have formed a group called the Philippine Federation of
Married Catholic Priests (PFMCP)—one of four federations of married Catholic priests worldwide
(Quiacao, 2019).
However, the Roman Catholic Church demands to keep the norm of celibacy in priesthood.
In 1075, Pope Gregory VII issued a decree effectively barring married priests from ministry, a
discipline formalized by The First Lateran Council in 1123. Considering the decree, Father Jim
Achacoso, a canon lawyer and consultant of the Philippine Catholic bishops’ Episcopal
Commission on Canon Law, explained that married men who can exercise the ministry with all its
demands should live in “complete and perpetual chastity” (Quiacao, 2019). Yes, there is a decree
about celibacy, but it is a discipline—not a dogma—that can be amended to resolve issues in and
by the Church.
Despite its tradition, the discipline on celibacy should be reconsidered and changed because
vocational crisis is vital to this position. In addition to that, a lot of the problems caused and
experienced by the Church ministers are due to celibacy.
Celibacy as a mandatory discipline on priests has negative effects in the society and of the
Church. As the world has changed, the Church has had a harder time recruiting priests. According
to the Official Catholic Directory (2017), numbers have been dropping: between 1970 and 2014
the world's Catholic population grew from 654 million to 1.23 billion, while the number of priests
declined from 420,000 to 414,000. For the Catholic priests’ ratio in the Philippines, about 85
percent of the 100 million Filipinos are Catholics and there are only 9,433 priests. Thus, the ratio
is a Catholic priest for every 8,500 Filipino Catholics—failing to meet the “ideal” ratio of one
priest for every 2,000 parishioners (Catholic Directory of the Philippines, 2017). Reese (2018),
stated that married life of priests is a positive path for holiness in various ways, one way is that it
encourages children of priests to easily enter religious life—a solution to vocational crisis—than
ordinary lay people.
According to Flavio (2017), in 2014, the Vatican said 3,420 credible accusations of sexual
abuse committed by priests had been referred to its institution over the past 10 years, as a result,
824 clerics were defrocked. As part of the whole congregation, the Church in the United States has
paid $2.5 billion in compensation to victims worldwide since 1960. Critics, including those in the
Catholic Church who want justice for all the victims, say the system of payments is unfair and not
all victims receive the same opportunities or compensation.
Montagna (2007) stated in her article that in 1990, Pope John Paul II addressed the issue
of loneliness in the priesthood. Loneliness is a particular and an increasingly serious problem
among priests. Statistically, suicidal priests due to depression and loneliness are very rare but
particularly tragic.
The Catholic Church must now amend the discipline of priestly celibacy to strengthen the
congregational stability. After all, vocational crisis and mental health issues will not be a problem
if celibacy requirement on priests is reconsidered. In addition to that, this position will cease the
scandal cases subjected to the ministers of the Church and will bring a fruitful congregation.

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Why Catholic Church Should Reconsider and Change the Discipline on Celibacy?

by: Aldrin P. Luces

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