Does the catholic church Traditionally teach that celibacy is a greater commandment than marriage?

Question

i ask this question to be fair to catholics.

But i know that the bible says that God ordained marriage. I also know it is a requirement of a bishop to have at least ONE wife.

but here is the bias of tradition, that i am asking about: if a church prolcaims One teaching to be true, and and authoritatively suppresses all other interpretation and theology, then is not such a church gone astray from the truth?
Through the neglect of true doctrine, Any doctrine, have such people chosen to be blind. ?

Answer 1

Traditional Catholics' Motto

We are what you once were.
We believe what you once believed.
We worship as you once worshipped.
If you were right then, we are right now.
If we are wrong now, you were wrong then.

Answer 2

First of all Jesus was not married. Then St. Paul chose not to marry. St. Paul actually said that being "virginal" and not marrying was the greater state.
If you know Catholic Church teaching then you know that its a vocation. Not all are called to Celibacy. Celibacy is a gift. Not all are called to be married. (Read all of St. Paul Epistes) If you want to call it the traditions of men, then I guess Jesus and St. Paul were the guilty parties.
To understand the Catholic Church's position on these things you should read some Catholic sources. Are all Catholic priests bound to celibacy? No. Only the Western Latin part of the Catholic Church requires this and they have good reasons for doing it. First of all to be a priest to be Christlike, acting in persona Christe, the West wants to live the life Christ lived. A celebate life.
The Eastern Catholic Church allows its priests to have been married before they were ordained deacons, if they don't choose celibacy. The history of the East has its own traditions also very scriptural as the west is.
Protestants like to focus in on this issue of Marriage and Celibacy but forget that Jesus Christ was the founder of the Catholic Church and he was celibate.
It is not the requirement of a Bishop to have one wife as to an absolute law. The law here referred to was in a time and place where the custom of the pagans was to take on more than one wife. The Bishop must not have more than one wife if he chooses to be married. Christian marriage is to one wife, two or more as the pagans did.
Rather than degrade marriage the Catholic Church puts marriage in its proper sphere, because that is what Christ did. He raised the Marriage to a Sacrament. St. Paul calls the church the Mystical Body of Christ and the Bride of Christ.
Please don't say that the Catholic Church is against marriage, that is not true. Please don't say that Celibacy is a man made tradition. Unless you are starting with the Man Christ Jesus! And we must deal with truth.

Answer 3

The Church teaches that the vocation to marriage is a great and holy calling. (I.e., marital sex is wonderful, good and holy).

The Church also teaches that people who make a personal sacrifice and give up sexual pleasure in order to serve Christ and the Church is also a great and holy calling. (I.e., proper and voluntary vows of celibacy are also a good and holy thing).

St. Paul apparently was not married. He served as a bishop for the early church without a wife. Likewise, Jesus had no problem being our High Priest without a wife. The verse in question doesn't say "at least ONE wife" -- it says, "NO MORE THAN one wife." So having no wife is also perfectly okay.

Priestly celibacy is a tradition of the Catholic faith these last so many centuries. At some point, that rule may change and we may have married priests again. For now, the leaders of the Catholic faith believe it's prudent for our priests to focus on the Church and not be divided with the natural and normal demands of a wife and family. God will bless either arrangment.

Answer 4

No.

The Catholic Church has never taught that celibacy is greater than marriage.

Marriage is a sacrament, celibacy is not.

The celibate clergy did not come into full bloom until about 1000 A.D. There were many married priests, bishops, and popes before this time.

Priests, religious brothers and religious sisters (nuns) as part of their vocation choose not to marry following:
+ The practice recommended in the Bible
+ The example of Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, and the Apostle Paul.

+++ Scripture +++

In Matthew 19:12, Jesus says, "Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it."

In Matthew 19:29, Jesus says, "And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life."

Matthew 22:30 - Jesus explains, "At the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven."

In 1 Corinthians 7:1, Paul writes, "It is a good thing for a man not to touch a woman."

Then in 1 Corinthians 7:7, Paul says, "Indeed, I wish everyone to be as I am."

In 1 Corinthians 7:27, Paul writes, "Are you free of a wife? Then do not look for a wife."

In 1 Corinthians 7:32-33, Paul teaches, "I should like you to be free of anxieties. An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But a married man is anxious about the things of the world, how he may please his wife." And in verse 38, "So then, the one who marries his virgin does well; the one who does not marry her will do better."

Paul recommends celibacy for full time ministers in the Church so that they are able to focus entirely upon God and building up His kingdom. He “who refrains from marriage will do better.”

See also 1 Timothy 5:9-12, 2 Timothy 2:3-4, Revevation 14:4, Isaiah 56:3-7, and Jeremiah 16:1-4.

+++ Scriptural Examples +++

Biblical role models of a celibate clergy came from John the Baptist, Jesus, and the Apostle Paul.

John the Baptist and Jesus are both believed to have been celibate for their entire lives. Some scholars believe that the example of the Essenes influenced either or both Jesus and John the Baptist in their celibacy.

WWJD? What would Jesus do? Jesus did not marry.

The Apostle Paul is explicit about his celibacy (see 1 Cor. 7). There is also evidence in the gospel of Matthew for the practice of celibacy among at least some early Christians, in the famous passage about becoming “eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 19:12).

The concept took many twists and turns over the years and will probably take a few more before Christ returns in glory.

A priest is "married" to the Church. Some people think that a priest who takes his duties seriously cannot take proper care of a wife and family. "A man cannot serve two masters."

+ With love in Christ.

Answer 5

There is no such teaching in the Catholic religion that celibacy
is a greater commandment than marriage. Celibacy is required only for those who have chosen a religious vocation (priests, nuns)

A little learning can be a dangerous thing if you use it as a major foundation of your life's philosophy.

Answer 6

I know of no Catholic Bishops who have any wives. No one who has read 'Thornbirds' would ever make that assumption. Priests are men who must, in the eyes of the church maintain celibacy and abstain from sexual relationships. If he cannot do this he should not become a priest and consider marriage so as not to violate his chastity. Celibacy means only that a person does not marry. Abstinence means no sex. Both ways of life are beautiful in the eyes of God and one is not exalted above the other. The world is in need of both families and clergy. Why do I get left out?

Answer 7

In the seven sacraments, the wedding one is before the priestly one. This means several things.

1) If one wishes to be a priest, yet married, one must obtain the sacrament of Matrimony BEFORE the sacrament of Ordination.

2) If one wishes to be a priest, but is not married, the sacrament of Matrimony is forgone,

3) Christ accepts this sacrifice. John was his favorite disciple because he was unmarried. (All the other apostles were married) Traditionally, Joseph, Mary and Jesus were all celibate. Joseph and Mary's reason for this sacrifice was to speed the advent of our Saviour into this Vale of Tears. They made this sacrifice severally (that is, neither knew the other had made it), and long before Jesus came into the world, and neither is this confirmed nor refuted in the bible, except with vague references to "Nazareth" which is a Hebrew word for lily, a flower traditionally representing virtue.

There is a Catholic bishop who lives in my town who is married, but I understand that they are few and far between.

4) if you wish to be a married person, most Catholics usually forgo the Sacrament of Ordination. This is the majority of Catholics

5) Some choose to remain single without any sacrament, and not be a priest or a spouse.

Answer 8

Catholicism has been influenced by paganism of Greece and new goddesses and gods was their requirement.It is reported that even virgin marry was married to
Joseph and holy Christ himself married a Kashmiri woman.

Answer 9

I BELIEVE THAT THE CATHOLICS IN GENERAL FOLLOW THE MAN MADE TRADITIONS FOR ALONG TIME AGO...INSTEAD OF THE ACTUAL WORD OF GOD. THIS IS NOT GOOD. AND AS FOR THE POPE ...HE MAKES ME SICK, ESPECIALLY THIS NEWEST ONE. NO MAN IS TO BE TREATED AS A HUMAN GOD. AND THIS NEW ONE IS THE WORST OF ALL AND EVEN THOUGH I DON'T LIKE THE IDEA OF POPE BECAUSE THEY ARE SINNERS JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, AND THEY THINK THEY ARE PERFECT PEOPLE , THIS ONE IS UNDESERVING OF THIS TITLE THAT THE CATHOLICS BESTOW UPON THEM...IF I WAS CATHOLIC, AND REALLY LISTENED TO THIS NONSENSE, I STILL WOULDN'T LIKE HIM, HE'S REPULSIVE.