Next Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Mandatory Celibacy
Lately the news has been telling us about Roman Catholic priests who sexually molested boys. Apparently these men were unable to handle mandatory celibacy. The early Church did not require celibacy. We know that the Apostle Peter was married because Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law when she had a fever. (See Matthew 8:14-15 and Mark 1:30-31). We know that bishops were married, because Paul gave them the guideline that they should only have one wife. (1 Timothy 3:2) Paul mentions that Peter, other apostles, and Jesus' brothers were married. (1 Corinthians 9:5)
Even now, priests in the Eastern Rite Church (a branch of the Roman Catholic Church) are allowed to marry. I have personally known Byzantine Melchite (Eastern Rite) priests who were married. There are some Roman Catholic priests who are legally married. Over 100 married Protestant ministers converted to Catholicism and were ordained as Roman Catholic priests. [Note 1]
Some priests are secretly married. When I was a Catholic I had a regular confessor, a priest I met with every week to mentor me and instruct me on issues of faith and morals. Years later I was shocked to learn that, while he was my confessor, he was secretly married. (Eventually he left the Catholic Church and openly married his wife. Years later, he left his wife and children, went back to the Catholic Church, and was reinstated as a priest.) When I was a nun, we were taught that the purpose of celibacy was to enable us to be more totally dedicated to God. The Apostle Paul said, "But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife." (1 Corinthians 7:32-33)
This shows that celibacy is a valid calling which can help people be more fully devoted to God. When God calls, He equips. I have known precious celibates (both Catholic and Protestant) whose devotion to God is inspiring. But what about requiring people to be celibate? Earlier in the same chapter, Paul said, "But I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that. I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn." (1 Corinthians 7:7-9, emphasis added)
While discussing celibacy, Paul said that God has given people different gifts. It is good for a person who has been given the gift of celibacy to be celibate. But if they do not have that gift, then it is better for them to marry. In spite of Paul's admonition, the Roman Catholic Church requires that priests, nuns, and monks be celibate. How did that happen?
Pope Gregory VII reigned from 1073 to 1085. At the time, most Catholic priests were married. Kings and nobles donated property to the Roman Catholic Church in exchange for the faithful service of priests. Some priests tried to leave this property to their heirs. In addition, they had loyalty to the nobles who provided them with homes. In order to protect Church property, and to ensure that the loyalty of the priests went to the Pope and not to secular rulers, Pope Gregory abolished clerical marriage. He passed laws requiring that priests be celibate, and he got rid of married priests. [Note 2]
In 655 A.D., by passing a decree, the ninth Council of Toledo turned the children of married priests into Church property. They immediately became the permanent slaves of the Catholic Church. In 1089, by passing a decree, the Synod of Melfi under Pope Urban II turned the wives of married priests into property. The priests were put into prison and their wives were sold into slavery. Their children were either sold into slavery or else abandoned. [Note 3]
Married priests were a target of the Inquisition. [Note 4] There is a web site for priests who are struggling with celibacy. [Note 5] There is an on-line support group for priests and nuns who are involved in "romantic relationships". [Note 6] There are support groups for children who have been fathered by Catholic priests. [Note 7]
In the last fifteen years, the Roman Catholic Church in America paid nearly one billion dollars because of Catholic priests who were convicted of sexual abuse. Catholic priests in ten other countries have also been convicted of sexual abuse. There are two support groups for helping women who are sexually involved with Catholic parish priests. Eastern Rite churches (which do not require celibacy) do not have these problems. [Note 8]
Chapter 10
A Modern Bid for Power
During the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church controlled the known world. Popes gave orders to kings and emperors. A Vatican insider has warned us that the Catholic Church is diligently working to regain its historic position of power over world leaders.
Malachi Martin recently died. He was a Catholic priest, a Vatican diplomat, and the personal confessor of Pope John XXIII. Martin believed that the Vatican wants to control the world again, as it did in the Middle Ages. He wrote a book about this entitled, "The Keys of This Blood: Pope John Paul II Versus Russia and the West for Control of the New World Order." [Note 1]
When Martin wrote this book in 1990, the U.S.S.R. was the great competitor of the West. If he wrote the book today, he might discuss Muslim nations and China. But whoever the competing nations are, the Vatican is working to gain world domination.
If the Vatican succeeds in its bid for power, then it may be in a position to impose its laws (Canon Law) on many nations. [Note 2 gives information about Canon Law.] Canon 1311 of Roman Catholic Canon Law says that the Catholic Church has the right to "coerce offending members of the Christian faithful" (emphasis added).
Canon 752 says that "the Christian faithful" are required to submit their minds and wills to doctrines declared by the Pope or the college of bishops, and to be careful to avoid anything which disagrees with those doctrines. Does the term "the Christian faithful" in these laws refer to all Christians? Or only to Roman Catholics? The term could be interpreted either way.
Are Protestants numbered among "the Christian faithful"? Here the Catholic Church is on the horns of a dilemma. If it says "yes," then it admits that its laws justify the persecution of Protestants. If it says "no," then it admits that the term "separated brethren" is meaningless. If Protestants are not "Christian faithful" then ecumenism does not make any sense (unless it is just a ploy to bring Protestants back into the Roman Catholic Church.)
Of course, the Catholic Church can take the option of keeping the written laws as they are, but verbally saying that it would never use them to persecute Protestants. To believe that is like believing a salesman who promises you things that aren't in the written contract.
Canon 1366 says that "parents" are to be punished with "a just penalty" if they allow their children to "be baptized or educated in a non-Catholic religion". The reference to baptism shows that this refers to Christian religions which are not Roman Catholic. Canon 1371 says that "a person" who teaches a doctrine which has been condemned by an ecumenical council is to be punished. The Council of Trent described every single doctrine of the Protestant Reformation, and condemned it. It also listed Protestant objections to Catholic doctrine, and condemned them.
The wording of these laws does not indicate whether they apply to all Christians, or only to Roman Catholics. They are written in such a broad way that it might be possible to interpret them in a way that applies to non-Catholics. If a time ever comes when the Roman Catholic Church interprets these laws as applying to non-Catholics, then it would become a crime (an act contrary to Canon Law) for a person to be Protestant and to instruct their children in their beliefs. It would also become a crime for Catholics to convert to Protestantism and then share their new faith with other people (including their own children). Sharing can be considered to be a form of teaching. And their new faith would include things which are contrary to Catholic doctrine.
This doesn't seem fair because most Catholics were baptized into the Catholic Church when they were babies. In other words, they were made Catholics without their consent.
These laws say that offenders are to be punished with a "just penalty". This term is so broad that it can be interpreted to mean almost anything. It gives immense discretionary power to whoever is in authority at the time. During the time of the Protestant Reformation, it was a crime to be a Protestant. Being burned alive was considered to be a "just penalty" for the crime of disagreeing with Catholic doctrine. Similarly, during the Inquisition, torture and death were considered to be "just penalties" for the crime of "heresy" (disagreeing with Catholic doctrine). (See the chapter, "Hunting 'Heretics'".)
Right now, the Catholic Church does not have the power to openly persecute Protestants. So the issue of whether or not Canon Law can be said to apply to non-Catholics is not a matter of practical concern. However, if the Vatican succeeds in its bid for power, then the definition of "the Christian faithful" in Canon Law may have far-reaching consequences for Protestants.