Clerical celibacy is based on the idea that the state of being unmarried enables a person to more fully devote themselves to Christian service. A biblical argument for this view is given in 1 Corinthians 7:32-34:
“But I would have you to be without solicitude. He that is without a wife is solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord: how he may please God. But he that is with a wife is solicitous for the things of the world: how he may please his wife. And he is divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin thinketh on the things of the Lord: that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she that is married thinketh on the things of the world: how she may please her husband.”
A further argument derives from the Catholic view of the priesthood as a ministry being aligned to that of Christ himself. Thus at each Mass, the priest stands “in the person of Christ” i.e. represents Christ to the people. In Luke 18:28-30, mention is made of those who give up all to follow Christ and in Matthew 19:12 we read of those who have “renounced marriage for the kingdom”.
Although celibacy is mandatory for all Catholic priests, there are two main exceptions:
- Priests who were married while part of another denomination such as Anglicanism or Eastern Orthodoxy and who subsequently convert to the Catholic faith are permitted to retain their married status. However, remarriage after widowhood would not be permitted.
- Eastern Rite Catholic churches (e.g. the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church), who follow the Eastern liturgy, but are in full communion with the Catholic church in the West, are also allowed to ordain married priests, in keeping with their traditional practice. Marriage must take place before ordination.
For Bishops, both East and West require celibacy and this is also the practice of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Bishops from other denominations who convert to the Catholic faith, would be re-ordained as Priests, while remaining married.
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