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Catholic Church: Celibacy Is Not The Problem

Telesphor R. Magobe - 9/5/2006

What has prompted me to share my views on the above subject are two articles that appeared in recent editions of a popular local Kiswahili weekly that specializes in analytical and investigative features. In the first piece, the author called on the Roman Catholic Church to abolish the discipline of celibacy to her clergy. He took sexual scandals among the clergy as a basis for his arguments but he doesn't really go further than that.

He nevertheless seems to have a passion for a listening and caring church able to transform her clergy into more credible leaders. The author of the second piece called compulsory celibacy the teachings of the Devil. He argued how the Christian Church in general, and the Roman Catholic Church in particular, has (according to him) distorted the biblical message.

The latter writer claims to have come to the conclusion after doing a thorough study. In my opinion, however, he has neither done any serious study nor used any orthodox scholarly sources. He thus risks being classified as having done amateurish work. In both cases, I have decided to respond to the authors' views not as an authority on Church issues but as an ordinary member of the RC church who likes to share views with other readers. Today I will concern myself with the first article only. The Roman Catholic Church adopts compulsory celibacy and chastity as inextricable requirements for priestly and religious life. Aspirants to priestly and religious life too are required to observe the discipline of celibacy throughout their formative period and thereafter.

Celibacy includes chastity. Other requirements for the reception of orders are freedom from any irregularity or impediment, sound faith, completion of philosophical and theological studies, right motivation, good reputation, moral probity, proven virtue, and sound physical and psychological qualities.

One must also not have committed any wilful homicide, should not have procured an abortion or cooperated in procuring it, should not have gravely and maliciously mutilated oneself or another, and should not have attempted suicide. There are several more requirements. The ground for chaste celibacy has both spiritual and practical aspects. Ideally, these two make priests or other religious people free to serve God and the people in circumstances where a married person "cannot".

However, as a church discipline, celibacy (but not chastity) is not part of divine law or one of the Ten Commandments and so it is subject to changes at any time and in circumstances the church deems fit. Critics of compulsory celibacy argue that the discipline should be abandoned and priests and the religious should be free to marry or live as celibates but not in the way it is practised in the church at present. I too think this should be a feasible solution to the controversy but I do not agree with the reasons given, as most focus mainly on the negative aspect - that is, sexual scandals among the clergy and other religious people. For instance, in Europe and America, some priests and the religious have often been implicated in sexual scandals, which have cost the church billions of dollars in compensation to victims of paedophilia, defilement, rape or sodomy. This is regrettable!

There have been similar scandals in other parts of the world as well, including Tanzania. Those criticising celibate life suggest that if one cannot lead a celibate life (meaning if one reaches a stage of being scandalous) then one should marry. What is lacking in critics holding such a view is that they do not discuss the real issue. Rather, they wriggle out of it, possibly because of ignorance, faulty value judgement or prejudice.

My view is that a respectful institution cannot be a garbage disposal dump for those who fail to lead a celibate life. Such reasoning is incorrect. After all, marriage is not for abusers or failures! One cannot decide to marry just for kicks but must first of all find the "ideal" partner. The reason here is simple: you may want to marry a person and that person doesn't love you or a person may want to marry you and you don't love him or her. A valid marriage comes about only after two free, loving and consenting partners not prohibited by law (whether divine, customary or statutory), accept each other and lawfully contract to live together as husband and wife.

This is never automatic but a lifelong process. In fact, there are spouses who die before they can even realise that they are married to each other despite living together and having children. But are these really loving spouses meant for each other and not spouses of convenience - opportunists? Marriage cannot be reduced to a merely biological function as many people think it to be. There are many other aspects to it, including companionship, community life and reciprocal love. So if you take a person who cannot manage a celibate life and think he or she should be thrown into marriage, you are actually abusing the institution of marriage or your notion of marriage is parochial - merely biological.

Apparently, even in marriage there are moments when spouses need to live as celibates though temporarily. Think of those moments when a partner is on safari or sick, has contracted an incurable or contagious disease or has developed some deformity. Think of Aids, paralysis or insanity. Think of the possibility of your living in seclusion for a long time, maybe as a prisoner; what are you going to do? Will that be the end of your marriage or an invitation to temporary "celibacy" or abstinence? So, marriage is never a solution to scandalous celibate life. To suggest that it is to ridicule the institution of marriage. A person who fails to lead a celibate life is not automatically called to be a good husband or wife.

I submit that if you throw a sex maniac into marriage you will create more problems than solutions. Scandalous life has to do with one or all of the following: infidelity, imprudence, compulsion, psychological imbalance and sexual gratification. The other point I want to raise is that even in marriage there are scandals due to infidelity, where married persons get involved in sodomy, incest, paedophilia, rape, molestation, defilement and so on. So at the end of the day we find that sex-related scandals have nothing to do with celibacy or marriage as such (though in certain circumstances they do). Rather, the scandals are caused by sexual problems that may not have been addressed sufficiently in either celibate or married life.

The Church cannot thus use scandals as a ground for reviewing or scrapping the discipline of celibacy. The ground should be positive, virtuous, inspiring and of specific value. But, of course, when scandals occur in the Church it is time for serious reflection, conversation and soul-searching.