are most of them?
2007-04-11 11:38:56 · 29 answers · asked by exjmission 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I know they can't have sex or be married.
2007-04-11 11:39:16 · update #1
I mean in the past have they ever done it?
2007-04-11 11:42:13 · update #2
Nope. It's not a requirement.
Once they become priests they take a vow to be celibate.
2007-04-11 11:41:36 · answer #1 · answered by Max Marie, OFS 7 · 6⤊ 0⤋
Not necessarily a virgin. A widower can become a priest, for example. Also, as in the case of St Augustine, a great early father of the Church, many people have been coverted away from a past life of sinfulness and promiscuity. There are many examples in the history of the Church of such as these who have become priests/brothers/monks and nuns/sisters. And, it should be noted, that the first pope, St Peter, had been married.
The Pope--and all those who are in holy orders and religious life-- do take vows of chastity, however, and are supposed to live lives of chastity and sexual continence.
2007-04-12 03:31:54 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No He dosen`t, any man before becoming a Priest may well have had a relationship with a woman but gives up this state for celibacy, and so any of the Popes may have at an earlier time, had a relationship too before entering the Priestly way of life.
2007-04-11 18:44:24 · answer #3 · answered by Sentinel 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No.
He needs to be chaste, but not a virgin.
Monks and Nuns take vows of Chastity, not vows of Virginity. Many nuns were former prostitutes in days gone by, and the Church was a common refuge for "fallen" women.
People babbling about nuns, monks, priests, bishops and the Pope needing to be "virgins" are misinformed.
2007-04-11 18:44:18 · answer #4 · answered by cornswalled 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No.
"The most infamous pope in history was probably pope Alexander VI (1492-1503) who had seven illegitimate children as a cardinal, which he openly acknowledged. As the newly-elected 61 year-old pontiff, he had an affair with the 19-year -old Giulia Farnese, who was herself a married woman."
2007-04-11 18:46:41 · answer #5 · answered by Murazor 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
while i do not belive it's a prerequisite most popes have been around a lot longer then our now more promiscuous age. once a man enters the seminary they are to remain celibate.
side note.... i did ask a nun once (& thoughts i'd get whipped for sure....) she asnwered -- no they don't - boy did that raise eyebrows and open some great conversations back in my Catholic high school!
2007-04-11 18:44:01 · answer #6 · answered by Marysia 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
if so, there have been a few who either lied on their application or decided to enjoy the fruits of their position...read some history of the popes down through the ages...just make sure the kids are in the next room...it's not all that pretty...
2007-04-11 18:50:02 · answer #7 · answered by spike missing debra m 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There have been Popes in the past that have had children so I don't think they have to be virgins.
2007-04-11 18:42:27 · answer #8 · answered by Cutie Pie 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
As far as I know there is no reason why someone couldn't get it on when a youngster, and then swear off sex, enter the priesthood and rise to Pope.
2007-04-11 18:42:12 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
The pope's virginity or lack thereof is not a criteria for election to the papacy. Anyway, how would you prove that a man is a virgin? You can't.
2007-04-11 18:41:49 · answer #10 · answered by Linda R 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Not necessarily. A widower would take Orders and become a Catholic priest. And as any Catholic priest, he would someday become Pope.
2007-04-11 18:56:13 · answer #11 · answered by M.M.D.C. 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋