Prof: Rodney Moss,
Johannesburg
1.3 Celibacy
as a sign of total dedication to Christ and his Church
The encyclical
Sacerdotalis Caelibatus of Pope Paul VI (1967) is a beautiful testimony to
the value of celibacy as a sign of total dedication to Christ and His Church.
Pope Paul states: “And so the free choice of sacred celibacy has always been
considered by the church as ‘a symbol of, and stimulus to, charity’: it
signifies a love without reservation; it stimulates a charity that is open to
all” (para. 24).
The encyclical
puts a heavy stress on the pastoral efficacy of celibacy: it disposes the
priest to the exercise of a perfect charity where with great freedom and
flexibility he may give himself to the welfare of all (para. 32). However,
there is an eschatological significance in celibacy that grounds it more firmly
in its sign values. “[I]t proclaims the presence
on earth of the final stages of salvation with the arrival of a new world, and
in its way anticipates the fulfillment of the kingdom as its sets forth its
supreme values which will one day shine forth in all the children of God”
(para. 34).
Celibacy
witnesses to a transcendent form of love, the way we will love in heaven. In
the eschaton we will experience a communion (bodily as well as spiritually) of
such intensity and depth that we will know fully the plenitude of love in God.
In this world the
Church has proclaimed the goodness of creation. Thus matter, the body, intimate
friendship and marital sexual activity are good but in Catholic theology they
are not of ultimate value. Rather, they are sacramental: they reflect God,
point to God, and bear traces of His goodness. The anti-idolatry injunction
found in Scripture means that no earthly reality can be regarded as ultimate:
we are not to make anything less than God the center of our lives. All
creatures, even those closest to us such as spouses, are to be loved in Him.
These thoughts echo the sentiments of St. Augustine that all creatures are
loved more truly when they are loved in God.
Celibacy, then, is a sign of the
ultimate oblative sacrificial nature of Christian love which is a total
dedication to Christ and His body, the Church. The fullest expression of this
love is only realized in the eschaton but amongst earthly realities celibacy is
a sacramental sign of a love like to God’s.
In conclusion,
Pope Paul VI expresses these sentiments as follows:
The true, profound reason for dedicated celibacy is …
The choice of a closer and more complete relationship
with the mystery of Christ and the Church for the
good of all
mankind: in this choice there is no doubt
that those
highest human values are able to find their
fullest expression (para. 54).