Much Ado About Everything

If the Anglicans know how to be Nice to Women Why Don't We.

The big debate about the clerical celibacy rule in the various personal ordinariate configured new Anglican hierarchy rules is rooted in just plainly bad theology and historical inacuracy.

The reason why it is so hard for some catholics to swallow it (some are getting spitting angry over the topic) is because it makes clear that the celibacy isn't a rule that God or Jesus imposed when he walked the planet and it's not one that has taken root anywhere but the latin rite- it's one that the church made up- to suit a bunch of concerns, pragmatic as well as political and economic- having to do with things like who gets the land if the priest's family lived in the church property and he has a surviving widow and elderly sons under the laws of primogeniture.

Clearly the lack of any family does serve some orders better than being tied to the proverbial ball and chain. Jesuits have a strong mission tradition and it becomes impractical to take women up the Andes climbing waterfalls to face certain martyrdom.
But diocesene priests whose role is to model good stable family values look a bit like the "do as I say not as I do" class of "those who can't, teach" at times. There is no biblical, scriptural or spiritual reason why some of them cannot have their own families. The only thing that comes close is the prescription that if you are married your priorities tend to be to take care of married life- and your family ranks-with their needs something you have to meet as a moral obligation first-over the anonymous masses.
But this clearly is not an insurmountable obstacle for the God who created Heaven and Earth and everything in between.

It is shocking to me how upset people get when this topic comes up- like the mere suggestion of a married priesthood means someone is trying to steal someone else's priest and they have a possessive claim to or on the person. Shockingly disturbing. All kinds of twisted theology develops over the need to lay down one's life-as if that is what Jesus meant when he said to follow him- and as if God created these priests to deny every natural inclination of their manhood for little more reason than to suit an institution that can't figure out how to schedule better.

I am pleased as punch that part of the Anglican communion is now going to be embraced with welcome arms into the Catholic fold. They have better sense about some things I hope rubs off- or at least the folly of some bad theology one hopes would go the way of paid indulgences buying salvation.

When people crush love in the name of Love-who is God, there is just something totally off the proverbial rocker about that.