why can't priests marry?

Question

Why can' priests marry? i know vicars can but i dont see the reasoning why priests can't?
if the answer is they are doing gods work then why cant they do that and be married?
surely they can understand their parishoners better if they live a more normal way of life.

these are some fantastic answers anda few funny ones. i never realised that it could be because of money. yet there stilll seems to be a divide is it to do with money or is it tod o with having a relationship with god?

Answer 1

priests cant marry because they are supose to devote there life to god. also priest have to get up in the middle of the night sometimes and go to the hospital to see a person who is dying and stuff like that which would be very hard to do if they were babysitting there kids.

Answer 2

The tradition of single priests is Canon law, not a dogma, which means it is not set in stone, and could change. The married priesthood is not unbiblical per se (i.e., Peter was married).

In 476 Pope Leo was the first to forbid priests to marry. But they continued to do so. The writings of the Church fathers show that, in the early Church, married priests were not the accepted norm in the main centres of Alexandria, Antioch and Rome. They considered it a "problem" that existed in the outlying regions. By the 3rd century there were almost no married priests and several councils put the issue to rest until around the 9th century when many bishops and priests took wives and had children. A huge problem emerged with priests "willing" Church property to their families. Up to that point, the principle of celibacy was never completely set forth in the official laws of the Church. In 1123, celibacy was made official and all marriages of priests annuled and all their children declared bastards by the pope to insure doanted lands and money would again flow to the church which had fallen on hard times.

The tradition certainly began with those influenced by Greek philosophy like Augustine and the notion that flesh was corrupt and women a primary source of corruption. We see how that's played out with priests having illicit affairs and gays and child molestors seeking the priesthood even though the church bans both. There is certainly no Biblical warrant for the practice since scripture calls forbidding to marry a "doctrine of devils" as Baptist point out to Catholics all the time. So these days the Catholic response is "Priests aren't forbidden to marry. Full time availability for ministry is just a job requirement like a lifting requirement for a warehouse worker." It's a canard. The dogma was born in misogyny, made canon law over money.

Answer 3

Actually, this is a requisite by the catholic church and I don't think is rightly done so. In Matthew 19:12 Jesus explains about three types of Eunuchs, meaning men who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. These men could be married and they have no physical impairment. Yet in dedication to the King and His kingdom, they willingly forego marriage in order to give themselves to the cause of Christ, without distraction.
Paul said in 1. Cor. 7:32 He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord.
Their celibacy is not physical but a matter of voluntary abstinence. Jesus said that he who is able to accept that,let him accept it.
I believe that some priests really do want this and give their entire being for the cause of Christ. Others, I think should have and would have married had it not been for the catholic rules. In order to be a priest, they forsake marriage, but may actually not be able to keep celibate, because it is difficult to do for any one.

Answer 4

My 81 yr old Catholic mother told me that at one time the priests could marry but the Vatican got mad because the priests were leaving their houses to their children instead of the church. So they made a law that they couldn't marry anymore. That is unbiblical because Peter had a wife.

Answer 5

because in Medieval Europe the church did not want to lose their property by having priests hand it over as an inheritance to their children who might not be part of the church.

So they instituted a rule that priest cannot marry so they will not produce children.

Answer 6

The Bible says it's OK to marry, but they ignore the Bible's teaching today.

1 Tim 4:1 However, the inspired utterance says definitely that in later periods of time some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to misleading inspired utterances and teachings of demons, 2 by the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, marked in their conscience as with a branding iron; 3 forbidding to marry, commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be partaken of with thanksgiving by those who have faith and accurately know the truth.
Verse 3 says forbidding to marry.

Answer 7

It has to do with property rights.
If he dies the wife is entitled to the property.
No marriage, no property rights.
Catholic Church gets to keep the property.
Purely economic reasons. The old $$$$ again.
I thought everyone saw this and understood it.

Answer 8

The original reason for priestly celibac began about 1000 years ago in Europe to prevent the priest's widows from claiming to "own" parish property, i.e. the house she had been living in. I believe in monastic celibacy, but the Catholics are 500 years behind on priests.

Answer 9

i think they supposedly are saved for the Lord trying to be w/o blemish and showing nothing can come before the Lord according to the bible you are suppose to love your wife as Christ loved the church therefore they would be putting their wives first i cant see where if God tells us to multiply and replenish the earth why they find it necessary to lay in wait for little children instead of getting married or getting out altogether they certainly arent biblical

Answer 10

I think it would be hard for them to live two lives. They have to be truly devoted to God and be in his service at all times.