The Compromised Witness

The Conservative Catholic Church's Fundamentally Dishonest ReCreated History on Celibacy

http://ca.renewedpriesthood.org/page.cfm?Web_ID=530


  Those who have argued that the forced mandatory celibacy in the church dates back to the early church and it is theologically founded are fundamentally dishonest. As we are to worship in Spirit and TRUTH they
defy the very nature of Christ in persisting in this dishonesty.  They blaspheme. There was NEVER a MANDATORY FORCED CELIBACY in the early church at any time. There were ascetics like John the Baptist who were so compelled by the message that they could do nothing other than scream in wilderness living off locusts and wild honey- and that was his particular mission. But no one mandated a rule against marriage for perpetual FORCED MANDATORY celibacy ever until the Catholic Church did it in the twelfth century in response to a host of political, worldly events having to do with preserving church property against inheritance laws. That is why the Catholic church is the only religion any where in the world that has forced mandatory lifetime celibacy imposed as a condition of employment on the priesthood.

It was a Jewish religion to start, with Jewish followers and Jesus came first to the Jews who largely rejected him then to the Gentiles. He didn't come to abolish the laws but to fulfill them. It was culturally required based on the scriptural commandment to be fruitful and multiply that Jewish people married and had natural progeny. It says in the old /first testament that women are 'saved' by child bearing. Jesus came into a "Holy Family."

     The early Jewish church would have thought a Mandatory Forced Celibacy of all its highest spiritual leaders to be so anathematic to the basic message it would have been a deal breaker.

In the Catholic World the forced mandatory celibacy of all priests as a condition of vocational employment lasted until the Schism- less than four hundred years before half the church split off believing it was wrong and ridiculous. It wasn't just King Henry the VIII who thought so. John Calvin, a catholic reformer who once thought of being a priest and instead is considered the founder of Presbyterianism and other Protestant movements married as did Martin Luther, a former Augustinian Monk.

     The reason it is so profoundly offensive is that it makes no consideration at all of the emotional, spiritual, psychological and physical needs of the woman involved. It runs 180 degrees in the opposite direction from who Jesus was in complete disregard for the well being of any woman involved or implicated. Jesus was totally about caring for women- his best friends were women. Mary Magdalene is the ONLY person we know of in scripture (other than his mother obviously) who had a one on one private audience with Jesus- all the others were in groups. Yet, there she is one on one at the tomb with him alone. He came to her alone.  The only time scripture reports he cried was watching the upset of Mary tell of the tearful death of her brother Lazarus. You cannot tell me that Jesus would be happy with this mandatory forced celibacy nonsense. I think he is appalled.

     There is absolutely nothing supporting theologically a Mandatory Forced Celibacy of all priesthood. There is good reason to have celibate monks in monasteries. There is ZERO reason theologically or spiritually to make  ALL priests in all diocese be celibate forever and it HARMS WOMEN.

    Frankly the church gets this rap on the war on women in part because of their total inconsideration of women along these lines which perpetuates the sort of gamesmanship, manipulations and delusions that create the psychological problems landing priests in the Saint Luke's Institute to get drugged into submission of something totally unhealthy.

    YOU MUST CHANGE. Pope Benedict You are not serving Christ by this Forced Mandatory Celibacy nonsense. The WHOLE CHURCH is crying out that you MUST CHANGE NOW.

If you think "Marriage Matters" act like it. Practice what you preach. Allow Priests to openly marry instead of the secret BS that goes on now.  It is not 'holier' to be not in Love. It is Less Love which is Less Christ.


How many priests have (a) died of AIDS
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2101457/Colombian-priests-hired-hitmen-kill-themselves.html

How many billions in settlements on the abuse because celibacy is a cloak for pedophilia?
How many priests in the US alone have gone to prison over the abuse (at taxpayer expense)?
How many secretly married, then left the priesthood (estimated to be over 25,000 in the US alone)?
PLEASE, GET REAL. Seriously. It's disgusting denial.