Why can't Catholic priests get married?

Question

I just read 1 Timothy, Chapter 4, it seems to disagree with the rule that priests shouldn't marry - any thoughts?

I Timothy 4:
1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; 5 for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

sgbarry ;
It says "depart from the faith"-wouldn't that imply that its not following the scripture? "forbidding to marry" -
I may not be the biblical scholar that you are but if catholic priests can't marry because the church says they can't, then the church isn't following the scripture, are they??

Answer 1

Celibacy is Church Practice, Not Dogma
Matt. 19:11-12 - Jesus says celibacy is a gift from God and whoever can bear it should bear it. Jesus praises and recommends celibacy for full-time ministers in the Church. Because celibacy is a gift from God, those who criticize the Church's practice of celibacy are criticizing God and this wonderful gift He bestows on His chosen ones.

Matt. 19:29 - Jesus says that whoever gives up children for the sake of His name will receive a hundred times more and will inherit eternal life. Jesus praises celibacy when it is done for the sake of His kingdom.

Matt. 22:30 - Jesus explains that in heaven there are no marriages. To bring about Jesus' kingdom on earth, priests live the heavenly consecration to God by not taking a wife in marriage. This way, priests are able to focus exclusively on the spiritual family, and not have any additional pressures of the biological family (which is for the vocation of marriage). This also makes it easier for priests to be transferred to different parishes where they are most needed without having to worry about the impact of their transfer on wife and children.

1 Cor 7:1 – Paul teaches that it is well for a man not to touch a woman. This is the choice that the Catholic priests of the Roman rite freely make.

1 Cor. 7:7 - Paul also acknowledges that celibacy is a gift from God and wishes that all were celibate like he is.

1 Cor. 7:27 – Paul teaches men that they should not seek marriage. In Paul’s opinion, marriage introduces worldly temptations that can interfere with one’s relationship with God, specifically regarding those who will become full-time ministers in the Church.

1 Cor. 7:32-33, 38 - 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.”

1 Tim. 3:2 - Paul instructs that bishops must be married only once. Many Protestants use this verse to prove that the Church's celibacy law is in error. But they are mistaken because this verse refers to bishops that were widowers. Paul is instructing that these widowers could not remarry. The verse also refers to those bishops who were currently married. They also could not remarry (in the Catholic Church's Eastern rite, priests are allowed to marry; celibacy is only a disciplinary rule for the clergy of the Roman rite). Therefore, this text has nothing to do with imposing a marriage requirement on becoming a bishop.

1 Tim. 4:3 - in this verse, Paul refers to deceitful doctrines that forbid marriage. Many non-Catholics also use this verse to impugn the Church's practice of celibacy. This is entirely misguided because the Catholic Church (unlike many Protestant churches) exalts marriage to a sacrament. In fact, marriage is elevated to a sacrament, but consecrated virginity is not. The Church declares marriage sacred, covenantal and lifegiving. Paul is referring to doctrines that forbid marriage and other goods when done outside the teaching of Christ and for a lessor good. Celibacy is an act of giving up one good (marriage and children) for a greater good (complete spiritual union with God).

1 Tim. 5:9-12 - Paul recommends that older widows take a pledge of celibacy. This was the beginning of women religious orders.

2 Tim. 2:3-4 - Paul instructs his bishop Timothy that no soldier on service gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim his to satisfy the One who enlisted him. Paul is using an analogy to describe the role of the celibate priesthood in the Church.

Rev. 14:4 - unlike our sinful world of the flesh, in heaven, those consecrated to virginity are honored.

Isaiah 56:3-7 - the eunuchs who keep God's covenant will have a special place in the kingdom of heaven.

Jer. 16:1-4 - Jeremiah is told by God not to take a wife or have children.

Answer 2

I Timothy 4 does NOT say that an unmarried person can't be a priest. Paul, after all, was unmarried and he was a great minister to the people of the early Church. I Timothy 4 only says that if a minister is married, he had to be married to only one person.

The current policy of the Catholic Church is to request priests to take a voluntary vow of celibacy. There were married Catholic priests in the past and there are married Catholic priests today (former Anglican and Episcopalian priests who convert are allowed to stay married, for example).

The reasons why celibacy became the current discipline (i.e., NOT a dogma), are twofold. First, it was problematic for priests to have sons who in many cultures would inherit their father's 'priesthood', including church property. This is a difficult concept for modern people to grasp because we don't expect to inherit our dads' jobs or the property that belongs to our dads' jobs, but it was a real concern for many years in most cultures.

Second, the role of the priesthood has become so strenuous, that a man has little left to offer his wife and children. I know this because I used to be the secretary of a protestant church. We had seven pastors, a business manager, a kids' ministry coordinator and a worship leader on staff. All were married. All experienced burn-out in a short amount of time, even though the burden was shared so many ways and there were only 1,200 people in the congregation. People just take and take and take from their clergy and rarely give anything back or try to help shoulder the burden. I could tell you many, many stories of these pastors missing anniversaries and kids' birthdays and stuff like that because a member just HAD to have the pastor RIGHT NOW. And if the pastor was wise enough to sniff out the people who really didn't need him RIGHT NOW but could wait a day or two until his family obligations were met, my, he paid for it with an earful of criticism, a drop in tithing and even the member quitting the church.

And that's not the worst of it. You should see what the spouses and kids had to put up with. No wonder that most pastors in a George Barna study said that if they knew now what pastoring would do to their families, they would never have become ministers.

An unmarried person can be wholly committed to serving the Church. That's what people expect anyway, so they might as well have it.

Personally, I believe that if people would start helping out their pastors and doing their share, protestant ministers wouldn't burn out and the discipline of priestly celibacy for Catholics will change. For now, though, celibacy for Catholic priests is working...and those poor protestant ministers and their families just have to muddle through.

Answer 3

1 Timothy 4

1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. 4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

Answer 4

i'm guessing it rather is because of the fact of Paul's words interior the hot testomony, asserting that it if somebody is single, they ought to stay single, and so on. A Catholic pal instructed me that they have got been, at one factor, allowed to marry, yet i don't have a source to unquestionably back that declare up. besides the shown fact that, what i detect unusual with regard to the completed ingredient is that GOD ordained marriage long until eventually now the 1st temple or New testomony church got here approximately. God made Adam and Eve for another, and reported their coming mutually to be sturdy. It would not make experience to me that a clergyman isn't authorised to get married until eventually now he will become a clergyman. yet, if he gets married, and then gets the "call" later in existence, they permit him marry. what's the version interior the timing of while he have been given married? some say that being married will distract a guy from his artwork for the dominion. besides the shown fact that, if he chooses a spouse who shares his coronary heart for the church, this is an incredible blessing. His spouse could be an incredible blessing to the ladies of the church. His human beings can see what a loving, Christian marriage is meant to look like, so while they arrive to him for marriage counseling, the female has a woman to speak to, no longer in basic terms the priest! whether no longer constantly showcased, the Bible exhibits how a godly woman could make a colourful impact on background (Rahab, Esther). allowing clergymen to marry could additionally make the church experience like a greater safer place for women. My wager, if I had to make a wager, may well be because of the fact they wanted to maintain women out of the church. the two that, or they wanted the priesthood to alter right into a handy conceal for homosexuals, so men who weren't immediately ought to circulate into the priesthood and be celibate for his or her finished lives, and it does no longer look unusual. Please take no offense to that fact.

Answer 5

Jesus himself said that there are those who make themselves eunuchs ( ie give up sex) for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Also- Paul himself lauds celibacy- he says those who can should remain as he is (celibate), but those who can't handle it should get married.

There will be no marriage in Heaven- priestly celibacy is a foreshadowing of the eternal banquet.

It also a matterof practicality. Protestant ministers have a higher divorce rate that the general population, and many of THEM belive the Catholics have it right.

I have a good friend who is a devout priest. He admits he would have no time to be a good husband.

Finally- there is Jesus Himself- Who said " No man can have TWO Masters!" :-)

Answer 6

1 Timothy Chapter 4 is describing religions that do not allow ANYONE to marry. In the Catholic Church, matrimony is considered a sacred sacrament. Is it a sacrament in YOUR church?

You have shown that you can read a Bible, now STUDY it and LEARN what it means.

Kait, I would e-mail you this question, but you have me and many other catholics blocked. What is to keep priests from leaving money and property to nieces and nephews?

Answer 7

At first it was because the Church (Catholic Church) wanted the priest to focus on his parish. Not to have the distractions of family ties. A priest's parish was his children and the Church was his wife, so to speak.

Also, back before celibacy was the rule, a lot of nepotism took place in the Church. Back then it was more a political organization in a lot of ways than an ecclesastical one, and it was very corrupt. (Please no flaming: this is simple history. I am Catholic and do not diss my Church.)

Today, there really is no good reason for it, except that a bunch of old conservative guys in the Vatican don't want it. That's pretty much the reason now.

Answer 8

The church use to allow them to marry until they realized that when the priest die all his worldly goods go to his widow and they didn't like that because it didn't add to the churches wealth. So they came up with the rule that priest could only marry the church so that when they pass they leave all their wealth to the church. Now how sick is that.

Answer 9

That discipline only applies to priests in the Latin (Western) rite, which is the rite most Americans are familiar with. Other Catholic rites (Eastern) allow priests to marry. There are also Latin rite priests who have converted from protestant sects that are allowed to stay married.
This is not Dogma. It is a discipline which means it could change in the future, but for now it probably won't.

Answer 10

It's illegal to marry an altar boy in most states.