Colloquium
at Ars
“Priestly
Celibacy: Foundations, Joys and Challenges”
Foyer
Sacerdotale Giovanni Paolo II
24
– 26 January 2011
Esteemed
Brothers in the Episcopate,
Dear Priests
and Friends,
With
this intervention of mine I wish to express, with a word of encouragement, first
and foremost my profound esteem, and that of the Congregation for the Clergy,
for the organisers of the Colloquium, who have chosen a theme that is more
timely than ever. This is particularly so since the event is occurring in the
place which has witnessed the work of St. John Mary Vianney, the comprehensive
model of the Sacerdotal ministry and a figure who continues to be a point of
reference for the priests of our own time.
The theme that has been given to me is
very specific and regards the teaching of the Popes from Pius XI to Benedict
XVI. I will approach the presentation by examining some of the more notable
documents of the Pontiffs in question, showing the contemporary relevance of
their teaching and drawing a synthesis of a number of lines of thought, which I
hope might find a place in ecclesiastical formation.
The Teaching of the
Pontiffs from Pius XI to Benedict XVI
1. Pius XI and the Encyclical Ad Catholici Sacerotii
The genuine passion that Pius XI had
for priestly vocations is well illustrated historically, as is his
indefatigable work for the building of seminaries in the whole Catholic world,
in which the young might receive an adequate formation to prepare them for the
sacerdotal ministry.
Within this frame of reference the
Encyclical Ad Catholici Sacerdotii of
20 December 1935, promulgated on the occasion of the 56th
anniversary of the Pontiff’s priestly ordination, must be adequately
understood. The Encyclical is made up of four parts. The first two are more
specifically dedicated to the foundations, from the first title, “The sublime
dignity: Alter Christus” and the
second, “Radiant Jewel”, while the third and the fourth are of a more
normative-disciplinary character and concentrate their attention on the
preparation of the young for the Priesthood and on some characteristics of
spirituality.
Of particular interest for our subject
is the second part of the Encyclical, which dedicates an entire paragraph to
chastity. However, this is found in the second part just after the paragraph
that speaks of the priest as an “imitator of Christ” and of “priestly piety”,
showing in that way how Pius XI’s concept of the priesthood was – as the Church
always holds – that of an ontological-sacramental character. From this derives
the need for the imitation of Christ and of the excellence of the priestly
life, above all in the order of sanctity. In fact, the Encyclical states, “Eucharistic
Sacrifice in which the Immaculate Victim who taketh away the sins of the world
is immolated, requires in a special way that the priest, by a holy and spotless
life, should make himself as far as he can, less unworthy of God, to whom he
daily offers that adorable Victim, the very Word of God incarnate for love of
us” (n.35), and again: “And since the priest is an ambassador for Christ, he
should so live as to be able with truth to make his own the words of the
Apostle: "Be ye followers of me, as I also am of Christ"; he ought to
live as another Christ who by the splendour of His virtue enlightened and still
enlightens the world” (n.38).
Immediately prior to considering
chastity, as if to underline the inseparable bond between them, Pius XI
emphasises the importance of priestly piety, stating: “the piety of which We
speak is not that shallow and superficial piety which attracts but does not
nourish, is busy but does not sanctify. We mean that solid piety which is not
dependent upon changing mood or feeling. It is based upon principles of sound
doctrine; it is ruled by staunch convictions; and so it resists the assaults
and the illusions of temptation” (n. 39). From this one can see how the very
understanding of Holy Celibacy is close and profound relation to good doctrinal
formation, faithful to Sacred Scripture, the Tradition and the constant
Magisterium of the Church. It is likewise in related to the practice of an
authentic piety, which today we would call an intense spiritual life that
avoids either sentimentalist tendencies, which can easily degenerate in to
subjectivism, or the much more widespread rationalistic tendencies, which can
produce a cynical critique that is a long way from an intelligent and
constructive critical capacity.
Chastity is seen as intimately
associated with piety in the Encyclical Ad
Catholici Sacerdotii when it says: “from piety springs the meaning and the
beauty of chastity” (n.40). From that derives an attempt to provide a rational
justification, according to Natural Law, when it says: “A certain connection
between this virtue and the sacerdotal ministry can be seen even by the light
of reason alone: since "God is a Spirit," it is only fitting that he
who dedicates and consecrates himself to God's service should in some way
"divest himself of the body” (n. 40). Following upon this affirmation -
which appears rather weak to our eyes today and which is, in any case, tied to
the chastity of ritual purity that would consequently tend to exclude its
perdurance, if it were to be seen as linked exclusively to the times and rites
of Worship – there follows the affirmation of the superiority of the Christian
Priesthood with respect both to the priesthood of the Old Testament and to the
natural priesthood proper to every religious tradition.
At this point the Encyclical places
Jesus’ own experience at the heart of the reflection, intended as a prototype
for every priest. It states, “For the Divine Master showed such high esteem for
chastity, and exalted it as something beyond the common power…/…All this had
almost inevitable consequences: the priests of the New Law felt the heavenly
attraction of this chosen virtue; they sought to be of the number of those
"to whom it is given to take this word (cf. Mt. 19: 11)” (n.43).
It is possible in these statements of
the Encyclical to notice that two intentions are complementary, the one to base
priestly chastity on the need for cultic purity, the other, much wider in scope
and better understood today, the need to present it as an imitatio Christi, the manner par
excellence in which to imitate the Master, who lived in a poor, chaste and
obedient fashion to an exemplary degree.
Pius XI does not fail, indeed, to quote
dogmatic pronouncements regarding the obligation of chastity, in particular the
Council of Elvira and the Second Council of Carthage, which, albeit in the
fourth century, testify distinctly to a much more ancient and consolidated
practice that, furthermore, may be carried into law.
With an extraordinarily modern accent,
in the sense that it is immediately accessible to our mentality, the Encyclical
speaks of the freedom with which the gift of chastity is to be received,
stating, “We say "freely," for though, after ordination, they are no
longer free to contract earthly marriage, nevertheless they advance to
ordination itself unconstrained by any law or person, and of their own
spontaneous choice!” (n.46). We could deduce, in response to some contemporary
objections about the presumed stubbornness of the Church in imposing Celibacy
on the young, that the Magisterium of Pius XI shows that it is the result of
freely welcoming a supernatural charism, which no one imposes, nor could it be
imposed. Above all the ecclesiastical norm is to be understood as the choice of
the Church to admit to the Priesthood only those who have received the charism
of celibacy, and that they have freely chosen it.
If one might legitimately sustain,
taking account of the climate of the era, that the foundation of ecclesiastical
Celibacy in the Encyclical Ad Sacerdotii
Catholici of Pius XI is placed above all on reasons, still valid, of cultic
purity, nonetheless it is still possible to recognise in the same text an
important exemplary dimension both of the Celibacy of Christ and of His
freedom, which is the same freedom to which priests are called.
2. Pius XII and the Encyclical Sacra Virginitas
An influential contribution is made,
from the magisterial point of view, by the Encyclical Sacra Virginitas, of 25 March 1954, of the Servant of God Pius XII.
Like all of the Encyclicals of that august Pontiff, it is resplendent for its
clear and profound doctrinal contribution, for the wealth of its biblical,
historical, theological and spiritual references, and it constitutes even today
a point of reference of notable merit.
If the Encyclical has as its formal
objective, in its strict sense, not ecclesiastical celibacy but virginity for
the Kingdom of Heaven, nevertheless there are many points of reflection and
explicit references to the celibate condition and the Priesthood that may be
found in it.
The Document is constituted of four
parts: the first outlines “the true idea of the virginal condition”; the second
identifies and responds to some contemporary errors, which have not ceased to
be a source of difficulty even today; the third part outlines the relationship
between virginity and sacrifice, while the last part, by way of conclusion,
outlines some hopes and fears with regard to virginity.
Virginity is presented, in the first part, as an excellent way of
following Christ. “For what does following mean but imitation? …/…Hence all
these disciples and spouses of Christ embraced the state of virginity, as St.
Bonaventure says, "in order to become like unto Christ the spouse, [… ] it
would hardly satisfy their burning love for Christ to be united with Him by the
bonds of affection, but this love had perforce to express itself by the
imitation of His virtues, and especially by conformity to His way of life,
which was lived completely for the benefit and salvation of the human race. If
priests […] cultivate perfect chastity, it is certainly for the reason that
their Divine Master remained all His life a virgin” (n.19).
In truth, and not at all by chance, the
Pontiff compares the virginal priestly condition with that of religious, male
and female, showing in that way how Celibacy, which differs from the normative
point of view, has the same theological and spiritual foundation in reality.
Another reason for Celibacy is
identified out by the Pontiff in the need, connected with the Mystery, of a
profound spiritual freedom. The Encyclical states: “it is that they may acquire
this spiritual liberty of body and soul, and that they may be freed from
temporal cares, that the Latin Church demands of her sacred ministers that they
voluntarily oblige themselves to observe perfect chastity” (n.22), and he adds:
“Consider again that sacred ministers do not renounce marriage solely on
account of their apostolic ministry, but also by reason of their service at the
altar” (n.23). In this way emerges how the Magisterium of Pius XII ties the
cultic reason to that of the apostolic and missionary motivation for Celibacy
in a synthesis that, far from opposing them, represents a complete unison in
favour of priestly celibacy.
Pius XII had already stated in his
Apostolic Exhortation Menti Nostrae:
“by this law of celibacy the priest not only does not abdicate his paternity,
but increases it immensely, for he begets not for an earthly and transitory
life but for the heavenly and eternal one” (n.26).
Mission orientation, the sacredness of
the Ministry, realistic imitation of Christ, spiritual fatherhood and
fruitfulness constitute therefore the irreplaceable frame of reference for
priestly celibacy. Contemporaneous with this is the correction of some
persistent errors, such as the misapprehension of the objective excellence, as
distinct from subjective sanctity, of the virginal state with respect the
married one, the assertion of the human impossibility of living the virginal
state, or the distance of consecrated persons from the life of the world and
from society. With regard to this the Pontiff says: “although all those who
have embraced a life of perfect chastity have deprived themselves of the
expression of human love permitted in the married state, nonetheless it cannot
thereby be affirmed that because of this privation they have diminished and
despoiled the human personality. For they receive from the Giver of heavenly
gifts something spiritual which far exceeds that "mutual help" which
husband and wife confer on each other. They consecrate themselves to Him Who is
their source, and Who shares with them His divine life, and thus personality
suffers no loss, but gains immensely” (n.39).
Such statements should be enough to
answer with sufficient clarity the many objections of a
psychological-anthropological character are raised by some propel even today
against priestly Celibacy.
The last fundamental theme considered
by the Encyclical Sacra Virginitas is
the relationship between virginity and sacrifice, which is particularly
sacerdotal. The Pontiff observes, citing St. Ambrose, that: “We are, therefore,
merely invited by counsel to embrace perfect chastity, as something which can
lead those "to whom it is given (Mt. 19:11) […] Wherefore it is "not
imposed, but proposed” (n.47). In that sense Pius XII’s invitation has two
aspects: on the one hand he affirms the need to, “measure one’s strength” to
understand whether one is capable of welcoming the gift the grace of celibacy,
in this way leaving to the Church, especially in our own day, a solid criterion
for honest discernment; on the other hand the Pontiff emphasises the intrinsic
bond between chastity and marriage, teaching, with St. Gregory the Great, that
chastity sustains marriage and represents, in very age, the highest and most
efficacious form of witness.
It is clear to all how, especially in
our secularised society, perfect continence for the Kingdom of God represents
one of the most effective and potent witnesses to “provoke” the intelligence
and the heart of our contemporaries in a healthy way. In a climate which is eroticised
to an ever greater degree, and almost violently so, chastity, above all of
those in the Church who are imbued with the ministerial priesthood, represents
an ever more powerfully eloquent challenge to the dominant culture and, in the
end, concerning the question of the very existence of God, proclaiming the
possibility of knowing Him and entering into relationship with Him.
I feel obliged to bring some attention to
a final reflection of Pius XII’s Encyclical, because it seems to go decisively
against the flow of many habits that are found today amongst not a few members
of the Clergy and in various places of “formation”. Citing St. Jerome, the
Pontiff places in evidence, “For the preserving of chastity, […] flight is more
effective than open warfare […] Flight must be understood in this sense, that
not only do we diligently avoid occasion of sin, but especially that in
struggles of this kind we lift our minds and hearts to God, intent above all on
Him to Whom we have vowed our virginity.” Look upon the beauty of your
Lover," St. Augustine tells us” (n.54).
Today it would seem almost impossible
to the educator to convey the value of celibacy and of purity to young
seminarians in a context in which it is, as a matter of fact, beyond the bounds
of practical possibility, to control the sights, literature, internet use and
knowledge which present themselves pervasively. If it is increasingly evident
and necessary to have the mature engagement of the freedom of candidates in a
voluntary and conscious collaboration in the work of formation, nonetheless the
Encyclical identifies an error, and we are fully in agreement with this, that
permits candidate for the priesthood to enjoy every experience, without the
necessary discernment and the required detachment from the world. Allowing this
is to understand nothing of man, of his psychology, of society and of the
culture that surrounds him. It means being closed into a sort of preconceived
ideology that goes against reality. We have only to look around us. How realistic
is the verse of the psalm, “They have eyes but they do not see…”!
I have to admit, at the end of this
brief excursus on the Encyclical of
Pius XII (even if the same could not be said to the same degree concerning that
of Pius XI), that I remain continually surprised by their modernity and
relevance. While allowing for the preeminent concentration on the sacral aspect
of Celibacy and on the bond between the exercise of the Divine Cult and
virginity for the Kingdom of Heaven, the Magisterium of these two Pontiffs
presents a celibacy that is christologically founded, both in its pointing to
the ontological configuration to Christ Priest and Virgin, and to that imitatio Christi.
If there appears to be a certain
justification that sees the papal Magisterium before the Second Vatican
Ecumenical Council an insistence on sacral-ritual argumentation and in that
after the Council an opening to more christological-pastoral reasons,
nonetheless one must recognise – and this is basic for the correct hermeneutic of
continuity, namely for the “catholic” hermeneutic – that both Pius XI and Pius
XII amply underline those reasons that are of a theological character. Celibacy
is presented in the above mentioned pronouncements not only as particularly
suitable and appropriated to the sacerdotal condition, but also intimately
connected to the very essence of the priesthood, understood as a participation
in the Life of Christ, in His Identity, and, therefore, to His Mission. It is
not by chance that those Churches of Oriental Rite that ordain viri probabti absolutely do not admit
married presbyters to episcopal ordination.
3. John XXIII and the Encyclical Sacerdotii Nostri Primordia
As you know quite well, Blessed John
XXIII dedicated an entire encyclical to the Saintly Curé of Ars, upon the first
centenary of his birth into Heaven. In that Encyclical, the fundamental themes
of virginity and celibacy for the Kingdom of Heaven, developed by Pius XI and,
above all, by Pius XII, are received by John XXIII, and he progressively finds
them illustrated in the exemplary figure of St. John Mary Vianney, whom he sees
as almost the quintessential representative of the Catholic Priesthood.
The Pontiff shows how all the virtues
that are necessary and proper in a priest were found to have been welcomed and
lived by St. John Mary Vianney, and he stresses in the Encyclical the
asceticism of the priest, the role of prayer and of Eucharistic worship, and
the consequent pastoral zeal. Indirectly citing Pius XII, the Encyclical recognises
how, for the fulfilment of one’s priestly functions a sanctity even greater
than that of the religious state is required, and he states that the greatness
of the priesthood is the imitation of Jesus Christ. John XXIII states: “It is
said that the face of the Pastor of Ars shone with an angelic purity. And even
now anyone who turns toward him in mind and spirit cannot help being struck,
not merely by the great strength of soul with which this athlete of Christ
reduced his body to slavery, but also by the great persuasive powers he
exercised over the pious crowds of pilgrims who came to him and were drawn by
his heavenly meekness to follow in his footsteps” (n.24). It is clear that, for
Blessed John XXIII, the bond between ministerial efficacy and fidelity to
perfect continence for the Kingdom of Heaven is brilliantly manifested in the
Curé of Ars, and that perfect continence is not determined by the demands of
the Ministry but that, on the contrary and against every functionalist
reduction of the priesthood, it is the Ministry itself, in its widest
manifestation, which is moulded, almost as a result of fidelity to Celibacy.
The Pontiff continues: “The ascetic way of life, by which priestly chastity is
preserved, does not enclose the priest's soul within the sterile confines of
his own interests, but rather it makes him more eager and ready to relieve the
needs of his brethren. St. John Mary Vianney has this pertinent comment to make
in this regard: "A soul adorned with the virtue of chastity cannot help
loving others; for it has discovered the source and font of love—God” (n.25).
From this way of perfectly theological
reasoning, one can see how the spirit of the World and the Spirit of God are
diametrically opposed. In this way we have the parameters for understanding and
edification.
The constitutive bond between celibacy,
priestly identity and the celebration of the divine mysteries is emphasised in
the Encyclical. A particular emphasis is placed on the bond between the
Eucharistic offering of the Divine Sacrifice and the daily gift of oneself,
even in holy Celibacy. Already in 1959 the papal Magisterium recognised how a
great part of the disorientation with respect to the fidelity and necessity of
ecclesiastical celibacy depended, and in fact still depends, on the inadequate
comprehension of its relationship with the Eucharistic celebration. In it, in
fact, the priest participates, not in a functional but in a real manner, in the
unique and once for all offering of Christ, which is however sacramentally actualised
and represented in the Church for the salvation of the world. Such participation
implies the offering of oneself, which must be fully integral, even to one’s
own flesh in virginity.
Who is unable to see now that there is
a vital bond between the Eucharistic – Divine Worship and the ordained Priesthood.
The lot of divine worship and the Priesthood are bound together. It is not
possible to take care of one sphere without the other. It is necessary to
reflect upon this when one gets involved in priestly formation and it is also
important to be conscious of the fact that to the outcome of the reform of
clerics is tied the outcome of the new evangelisation, which is absolutely
indispensable.
The observation of the Blessed Pontiff
continues to be valid today, perhaps in an even more dramatic fashion: “We urge
Our beloved priests to set aside a time to examine themselves on how they
celebrate the divine mysteries, what their dispositions of soul and external
attitude are as they ascend the altar and what fruit they are trying to gain
from it” (n.59). The Eucharist is thus
at one and the same time the source of holy celibacy and an “examination” of
one’s fidelity to it, a concrete measure of the real offering of oneself to the
Lord.
4. Paul VI and Sacerdotalis Caelibatus
Published on 24 June 1967, Sacerdotalis Caelibatus is, until now,
the last Encyclical dedicated by a Pontiff completely to the theme. In the
immediate post-conciliar context and receiving entirely the conciliar Doctrine,
Paul VI felt the need to underline with an authoritative magisterial act, the
perennial validity of ecclesiastical celibacy, which, in a manner more vehement
than even today, was contested by both historical-biblical and
theological-pastoral means in a true and real effort at its removal.
As is known, Presbyterorum Ordinis distinguishes between celibacy in itself and
the law of celibacy, when in n.16 it states, “Perfect and perpetual continence
for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven, commended by Christ the Lord and through
the course of time as well as in our own days freely accepted and observed in a
praiseworthy manner by many of the faithful, is held by the Church to be of
great value in a special manner for the priestly life…/… For these reasons,
based on the mystery of Christ and his mission, celibacy, which first was
recommended to priests, later in the Latin Church was imposed upon all who were
to be promoted to sacred orders”. Such a distinction is present both in the
third chapter of the Encyclical Ad
Catholici Sacerdotii of Pius XI and in N.21 of the Encyclical of Paul VI.
Both documents always refer the law of celibacy back to its true origin, which
was given by the Apostles, and, through them, by Christ himself.
The Servant of God Paul VI states at n.14
of the Encyclical: “Hence We consider that the present law of celibacy should
today continue to be linked to the ecclesiastical ministry. This law should
support the minister in his exclusive, definitive and total choice of the
unique and supreme love of Christ; it should uphold him in the entire
dedication of himself to the public worship of God and to the service of the
Church; it should distinguish his state of life both among the faithful and in
the world at large”. As is immediately evident, The Pontiff takes up the cultic
reasons typical of the preceding Magisterium and he integrates them with those
theological, spiritual and pastoral reasons more underlined by the Second
Vatican Ecumenical Council, emphasising how the double order of reasoning is
never to be thought of as in antithesis, but more in reciprocal relationship
and fruitful synthesis with one another.
The
same approach is found in n. 19 if the document, which recalls the duty of the
priest, as a Minister of Christ and dispenser of the Mysteries of God,
culminating in n.21, where it states: “Wholly in accord with this mission,
Christ remained throughout His whole life in the state of celibacy, which
signified His total dedication to the service of God and men. This deep concern
between celibacy and the priesthood of Christ is reflected in those whose
fortune it is to share in the dignity and mission of the Mediator and eternal
Priest; this sharing will be more perfect the freer the sacred minister is from
the bonds of flesh and blood”. Wavering, therefore, in the comprehension of the
inestimable worth of holy Celibacy and the consequent adequate evaluation of
it, and its strenuous defence, were it might be necessary, could be understood
as an inadequate comprehension of the real import of the ordained Ministry in
the Church and of its insuperable ontological-sacramental, and thus real,
relationship to Christ the High Priest.
To these
inescapable cultic and christological references, the Encyclical flows with a
clear ecclesiological reference, which is also essential for an adequate
comprehension of the value of Celibacy: “Laid hold of by Christ" unto the
complete abandonment of one's entire self to Him, the priest takes on a closer
likeness to Christ, even in the love with which the eternal Priest has loved
the Church His Body and offered Himself entirely for her sake, in order to make
her a glorious, holy and immaculate Spouse. The consecrated celibacy of the
sacred ministers actually manifests the virginal love of Christ for the Church,
and the virginal and supernatural fecundity of this marriage, by which the
children of God are born, "not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh.” (n.26). How could Christ love the Church with anything
other than a virginal love? How could the Priest, alter Christus, be a spouse to the Church in anything other than a
virginal manner.
From
the complete reasoning of the Encyclical there emerges the profound
interconnection of the merit of holy Celibacy, which, from whatever aspect one
might consider it, is shown ever more radically and intimately connected to the
Priesthood.
Continuing
to consider the ecclesiological reasons that sustain Celibacy, the Encyclical,
at nn. 29, 30 and 31, emphasises the insuperable relationship between Celibacy
and the Eucharistic mystery, stating that, with Celibacy: “the priest unites
himself most intimately with the offering, and places on the altar his entire
life, which bears the marks of the holocaust (n.29)…/… by a daily dying to
himself and by giving up the legitimate love of a family of his own for the
love of Christ and of His kingdom, the priest will find the glory of an
exceedingly rich and fruitful life in Christ, because like Him and in Him, he
loves and dedicates himself to all the children of God (n.30)”.
The
last great cycle of reasons that are presented as a support for holy Celibacy
concerns its eschatological meaning. In recognising that the Kingdom of God is
not of this world (cf. Jn. 18: 30), that at the resurrection there neither the
taking of neither wife nor husband (cf. Mt. 22: 30) and that, “he precious and
almost divine gift of perfect continence for the kingdom of heaven stands out
precisely as "a special token of the rewards of heaven" (cf. 1 Cor.
7: 29-31)”, Celibacy is shown also as, “stands as a testimony to the
ever-continuing progress of the People of God towards the final goal of their
earthly pilgrimage, and as a stimulus for all to raise their eyes to the things
above” (n.34).
He who is placed in authority to guide
the brethren to the acknowledgement of Christ, to welcoming the revealed truth,
to a way of life that is ever more irreproachable, and, in a word, to sanctity,
finds in Celibacy a most fitting and extraordinarily strong prophecy, capable
of conferring a singular authority on one’s Ministry and a fruitfulness, both
exemplary and apostolic, to one’s action.
The
Encyclical also responds with extraordinary contemporary relevance to those
objections which would see in Celibacy a mortification of humanity, deprived in
that way of one of the most beautiful aspects of life. At n. 56 it states: “In
the priest's heart love is by no means extinct. His charity is drawn from the
purest source, practiced in the imitation of God and Christ, and is no less
demanding and real than any other genuine love. It gives the priest a limitless
horizon, deepens and gives breadth to his sense of responsibility—a mark of
mature personality—and inculcates in him, as a sign of a higher and greater
fatherhood, a generosity and refinement of heart which offer a superlative enrichment”.
In a word, “celibacy sets the whole man on a higher level and makes an
effective contribution to his perfection” (n. 55).
In 1967, the year in which the
Encyclical Sacerdotalis Caelibatus
was published, the servant of God Paul VI gave one of the most courageous and
exemplary clarifying acts of the Magisterium of his entire Pontificate. It is
an Encyclical that should be studied attentively by every candidate to the
Priesthood, from the very beginning of his journey of formation, but certainly
before asking for admission to diaconal ordination. It should be taken up
periodically in the course of one’s ongoing formation and be made the object
not only of a careful biblical, historical, theological, spiritual and pastoral
study, but also of deep personal mediation.
5. John Paul II and Pastores Dabo Vobis
From
the beginning of his Pontificate the Servant of God John Paul II gave great
attention to the theme of clerical celibacy, repeating its perennial validity
and placing in evidence its vital bond with the Eucharistic Mystery. On 9
November 1978, but a few weeks since his election to the Pontificate, in his
first allocution to the clergy of Rome, he said: “The Second Vatican Council
recalled to us this splendid truth regarding the "universal priesthood"
of the whole People of God, which is derived from participation in the one
priesthood of Jesus Christ. Our "ministerial" priesthood, rooted in
the Sacrament of Holy Orders, differs essentially from the universal priesthood
of the faithful…/… Therefore our priesthood must be clear and expressive […]
closely linked with celibacy, […] due precisely to the clarity and
"evangelical" expressiveness referred to in Our Lord's words on
celibacy "for the kingdom of heaven" (cf. Mt 19:12)” (n.3).
Certainly
a point of particular note, within the sphere of all the themes regarding the
Priesthood and priestly formation, was the Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis, in which the gift
of celibacy is received as a bond between Jesus and the Priesthood and, for the
first time, the psychological importance of such a bond is also mentioned for
the first time, but not in a way separate from the ontological importance. In
fact we read at n. 72: “In this bond between the Lord Jesus and the priest, an
ontological and psychological bond, a sacramental and moral bond, is the
foundation and likewise the power for that "life according to the
Spirit" and that "radicalism of the Gospel" to which every
priest is called today and which is fostered by ongoing formation in its spiritual
aspect”.
Life
according to the Spirit and evangelical radicalism represent the due essential
guidelines along which proceeds the well documented and reasoned permanent
validity of priestly celibacy. The fact that the Servant of God John Paul II immediately
underlines its validity, proposes the ontological-sacramental reading of it,
pushing himself even to welcoming the right psychological implications that the
charism of celibacy has in the working out of a mature Christian and priestly
personality, encourages and justifies the reading of such an irreplaceable
ecclesial treasure within the teaching of the great and uninterrupted
continuity and most audacious prophecy.
We
could in fact say that placing holy Celibacy in question or relativising constitutes
an attitude which goes against the breath of the Holy Spirit while, on the
contrary, its full estimation, its adequate welcoming, its brilliant and
insuperable witnessing constitute an opening to prophecy. True prophecy, even
in the Church of today, even under the weight of recent dramatic events, which
have horribly stained its bright vesture, bears witness in an ever more evident
fashion, especially in the face of our hyper-eroticised society in which the
banalisation of sexuality and the body reigns supreme.
Celibate
chastity cries out to the world that God exists, that he is Love and that it is
possible, in every epoch, to live totally from Him and for Him. And it is
entirely natural that the Church chooses her Priests from amongst those who
have welcomed and matured, at a level thus measured and therefore prophetic,
this pro-existence: existence for Another, for Christ.
The
Magisterium of John Paul II, so attentive to the value of the family and of the
role of women in society and in the Church, was not afraid to underline the
perennial value of Celibacy. There are already many studies that consider the
interesting theme, pregnant with enormous consequences, of ‘bodilyness’ or the
“theology of the Body” in the Magisterium of the Servant of God.
It
was the Pontiff himself who, perhaps more than most in recent times, both
developed and lived a great theology of the body, who gives to us a radical
affection for Celibacy and the overcoming of any attempt at a functionalistic
reduction, by means of the clear ontological-sacramental and
theological-spiritual dimensions.
Another
element which emerges in the Magisterium of John Paul II (and already present
in Presbyterorum Ordinis), not indeed
as a novelty so much as a precious emphasis, is that of priestly fraternity. It
is considered not from the reductive perspective of its psychic-emotional
aspects, but in its sacramental roots, both in relation to the sacrament of
Order and in relation to the Presbyterate united to its particular Bishop.
Priestly fraternity is constitutive of the ordained Ministry, making its nature
as a “body” evident. It is the natural locus of those healthy brotherly
relationships, of concrete help, both spiritual and material, and of
companionship and support along the common journey of personal sanctification,
which is achieved precisely through the Ministry that is entrusted to us.
I
would like to make a final reference to the Catechism of the Catholic Church,
published during the Pontificate of John Paul II in 1992. It is, as has been
noted in various environments, the authentic instrument at our disposal for the
correct hermeneutic of the texts of the Second Vatican ecumenical Council. It
must also be said that it becomes, which is ever more in evidence, the
irreplaceable point of reference both for catechesis and for all apostolic
action. The Catechism repeats authoritatively the perennial validity of
priestly Celibacy when, in n. 1579, one reads: “All the ordained ministers of
the Latin Church, with the exception of permanent deacons, are normally chosen
from among men of faith who live a celibate life and who intend to remain
celibate "for the sake of the kingdom of heaven." Called
to consecrate themselves with undivided heart to the Lord and to "the
affairs of the Lord," they give themselves entirely to God and to men.
Celibacy is a sign of this new life to the service of which the Church's
minister is consecrated; accepted with a joyous heart celibacy radiantly
proclaims the Reign of God”.
All
of the themes we have seen heretofore, touched upon by the Magisterium of the
Pontiffs, are wonderfully synthesised in the definition of the Catechism: from
the ritual-cultic reasons to the imitatio
Christi in proclaiming the Kingdom of God, from those that derive from
apostolic service to those that are ecclesiological and eschatological in
nature. The fact that the reality of Celibacy has entered into the Catechism of
the Catholic Church speaks of how it is intimately related to the heart of the
Christian faith and it testifies to that radical proclamation of which the same
text speaks.
6. Benedict XVI and Sacramentum Caritatis
The last
Pontiff that we will examine is Benedict XVI, gloriously reigning, whose
Magisterium with regard to priestly Celibacy leaves no room for doubt both with
regard to the perennial validity of the disciplinary norm and, above all and as
a matter of precedence, with regard its theological foundation, particularly
that which is christological-eucharistic.
In particular, the Holy Father
dedicated an entire number of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis to the theme of
Celibacy. There we read. “The Synod Fathers wished to emphasize that the
ministerial priesthood, through ordination, calls for complete configuration to
Christ. While respecting the different practice and tradition of the Eastern
Churches, there is a need to reaffirm the profound meaning of priestly
celibacy, which is rightly considered a priceless treasure, and is also
confirmed by the Eastern practice of choosing Bishops only from the ranks of
the celibate. These Churches also greatly esteem the decision of many priests
to embrace celibacy. This choice on the part of the priest expresses in a
special way the dedication which conforms him to Christ and his exclusive offering
of himself for the Kingdom of God. The fact that Christ himself, the eternal
priest, lived his mission even to the sacrifice of the Cross in the state of
virginity constitutes the sure point of reference for understanding the meaning
of the tradition of the Latin Church. It is not sufficient to understand
priestly celibacy in purely functional terms. Celibacy is really a special way
of conforming oneself to Christ's own way of life. This choice has first and
foremost a nuptial meaning; it is a profound identification with the heart of
Christ the Bridegroom who gives his life for his Bride. In continuity with the
great ecclesial tradition, with the Second Vatican Council and with my
predecessors in the papacy, I reaffirm the beauty and the importance of a
priestly life lived in celibacy as a sign expressing total and exclusive
devotion to Christ, to the Church and to the Kingdom of God, and I therefore
confirm that it remains obligatory in the Latin tradition. Priestly celibacy
lived with maturity, joy and dedication is an immense blessing for the Church
and for society itself” (n. 24).
As is easily seen, the Apostolic
Exhortation presents multiple reasons why the Priest must by self-offering,
even to the sacrifice of the cross, in order to reach a complete and exclusive
dedication to Christ. Of particular relevance is the bond that the Apostolic
Exhortation repeats between Celibacy and the Eucharist; if such a theology
given by the Magisterium is received in an authentic manner and concretely
applied in the Church, the future of Celibacy will be luminous and fruitful,
because it will be a future of freedom and priestly sanctity. We could, thus,
speak not only of a “spousal nature” of celibacy, but also of its “eucharistic
nature”, based on the offering Christ continually makes of Himself for the
Church, and which is reflected in an obvious way in the lives of priests. They
are called to reproduce in their own existence the Sacrifice of Christ, to
which they have been assimilated by virtue of priestly Ordination.
From the eucharistic nature of Celibacy
a great many theological developments may be derived, which holds the Priest up
to his most fundamental duty: the celebration of Holy Mass, in which the words,
“This is My Body” and, “This is My Blood” are not only determinant of the
sacramental effect which is particular to them, but must mould the oblation of
the priest’s very life in an ongoing and concrete fashion.
The celibate Priest is thus personally
and publicly associated with Jesus Christ: he renders Him really present,
becoming a victim himself in that which Benedict XVI calls, “the eucharistic
logic of Christian existence”.
When the centrality of the Eucharist,
worthily celebrated and constantly adored, is increasingly recovered in the
Church, all the greater shall be the faithfulness to Celibacy, the
comprehension of its worth, and, if I may say so, the flowering of many holy
Vocations to the ordained Ministry.
In his Allocution when
receiving the Roman Curia 22 December 2006, to convey his Christmas greetings,
Benedict XVI again said: “The true foundation of celibacy can be contained in
the phrase: Dominus pars mea - You are my land. It can only be theocentric. It cannot mean being
deprived of love, but must mean letting oneself be consumed by passion for God
and subsequently, thanks to a more intimate way of being with him, to serve men
and women, too. Celibacy must be a witness to faith: faith in God materializes
in that form of life which only has meaning if it is based on God. Basing one's life
on him, renouncing marriage and the family, means that I accept and experience
God as a reality and that I can therefore bring him to men and women”.
Only the experience of the
“inheritance”, which the Lord is for every sacerdotal existence, makes that
witness to the faith, which celibacy is, efficacious. As the same Pontiff
repeated in his Discourse to the participants in the Plenary Assembly of the
Congregation for the Clergy on 16 March 2009, it is the: “apostolica vivendi
forma […] a participation
in a "new life", spiritually speaking, in that "new way of
life" which the Lord Jesus inaugurated and which the Apostles made their
own”.
The Year for Priests, which has
recently concluded, saw numerous interventions on the part of the Holy Father on
the theme of the Priesthood, particularly his Wednesday catecheses that were
dedicated to the tria munera, in his
interventions upon the inauguration and conclusion of the Year for Priests and
in the catecheses connected to the anniversaries of St. John Mary Vianney. Of
particular note is the dialogue that the Holy Father held with priests during
the Vigil for the closure of the Year for Priests. Asked about the meaning of
Celibacy and its challenges, which are encountered in the living of it in
contemporary culture, He responded by beginning from the centrality of the
daily Eucharistic Celebration in the life of the Priest, who, acting in Persona Christi, speaks of the “I” of
Christ, thus becoming the realisation of the continuance in time of His unique
Priesthood. He then adds: “This unification of his "I" with ours
implies that we are "drawn" also into the reality of his
Resurrection; we are going forth towards the full life of resurrection…/… In
this sense, celibacy is anticipation. We transcend this time and move on. By
doing so, we "draw" ourselves and our time towards the world of the
resurrection, towards the newness of Christ, towards a new and true life”. In
this way the intimate relationship between the Eucharistic source and the
eschatological dimension anticipated and realised in priestly Celibacy is
confirmed by the Magisterium of Benedict XVI. Overcoming in one bound every
attempt at a functionalistic reduction of the Ministry, the Holy Father
repositions it in a broad and exalted theological frame of reference, he sheds
light upon it, emphasising its constitutive relationship with the Church, and
he robustly evaluates all of the missionary potency that derives precisely from
that “more” for the Kingdom that Celibacy brings about.
On the same occasion the Holy Father
stated, with prophetic audacity: “It is true that for the agnostic world, the
world in which God does not enter, celibacy is a great scandal, because it
shows exactly that God is considered and experienced as reality. With the eschatological
dimension of celibacy, the future world of God enters into the reality of our
time”.
How could the Church live without the
‘scandal’ of Celibacy? How could she live without men ready to declare, in the here
and now, the reality of God, even and above all with respect to their own
flesh? These assertions were completed and, in a certain sense, crowned in the
extraordinary Homily pronounced during the Closure of the Year for Priests –
which I recommend that you read – in which the Pope prayed that we might be
liberated, as a Church, from lesser scandals so that the true scandal of
history should revealed, Christ the Lord.
Conclusions (7 points)
At the end of this journey, which has
seen us drawing attention to some significant passages of the papal Magisterium
from Pius XI to Benedict XVI, we shall now try to draw out an initial summation
by way of conclusion, which might offer a working basis for the formation of
Priests for the welcoming and living in a fulsome manner of this gift of the Lord.
1. Above all
there emerges the radical continuity
between the Magisterium that preceded the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council and
that which came after it. Albeit with accents that demonstrate the
different sensibilities of the times, some more liturgical-sacral, other more
Christological-pastoral, the unbroken Magisterium of the Pontiffs in question
is consistent in basing Celibacy on the theological reality of the ministerial
Priesthood, on the ontological-sacramental configuration to Christ the Lord, on
the participation in His unique Priesthood and on the imitatio Christi which is implied in that. Only an incorrect
hermeneutic of the conciliar texts could lad to the conclusion that Celibacy is
something left over from the past and from which one ought to liberated at the
earliest opportunity. Such an approach is not only historically, doctrinally
and theologically erroneous, but it is also extremely damaging to the
spiritual, pastoral, missionary and vocational outlook.
2. The
reduction of Celibacy to a mere ecclesiastical law, common in some
environments, is to be absolutely overcome in light of the papal Magisterium
that we have examined. It is a law only
because it is an intrinsic demand of the priesthood and of the configuration to
Christ that the sacrament determines. In this sense, formation for
Celibacy, above and beyond every human and spiritual aspect, must include a
solid doctrinal dimension, because it is with difficulty that one lives that
which one does not understand.
3. The debate
concerning Celibacy, which is reignited periodically over the centuries, does
not contribute to the serenity of the younger generations in coming to an
understanding of a fact that is to determinant of the sacerdotal life. What is authoritatively
expressed in n.29 of Pastores Dabo Vobis
is true for all when it assumes word for word the opinion of the entire Synodal
Assembly, stating: “The synod does not wish to leave any doubts in the mind of
anyone regarding the Church's firm will to maintain the law that demands
perpetual and freely chosen celibacy for present and future candidates for
priestly ordination in the Latin rite. The synod would like to see celibacy
presented and explained in the fullness of its biblical, theological and
spiritual richness, as a precious gift given by God to his Church and as a sign
of the kingdom which is not of this world - a sign of God's love for this world
and of the undivided love of the priest for God and for God's people”.
4. Celibacy
is a question of evangelical radicalism. Poverty, chastity and obedience
evangelical counsels that are not reserved exclusively to religious, but are,
rather, virtues to be lived with intense missionary ardour. We must not betray our young! We must not
lower the level of formation, nor, in fact, what the faith proposes. We must
not betray the holy People of God, which awaits saintly pastors, such as the
Curé of Ars. We must be radical in the sequela Christi! Let us not be
afraid of the fall in the number of clerics. The number decreases when there
the temperature of the faith is lowered, since vocations are a divine “affair”
and not a human one, and they follow the Divine logic, which is foolishness
from a human point of view. Faith is called for!
5. In a world
which is gravely secularised, it is ever more difficult to understand the
reasons for Celibacy. However, we must have the courage to ask ourselves, as
the Church, if we wish to resign ourselves to such a situation, accepting the
progressive secularisation of society and of culture as an unchangeable fact,
or if we are prepared for a task of a
profound and real New Evangelisation at the service of the Gospel, and thus
of the truth of Man. I hold, according to that meaning, that the reasoned
support of celibacy and adequately evaluating its worth in the life of the
Church and the world, might represent some of the most effective means to
overcome this secularisation. What else could the Holy Father Benedict XVI
means when he says that celibacy shows that, “God enters into the reality of our
time”?
6. The
theological root of Celibacy is to be engraved into the new identity that is
given to him who is invested with the Holy Orders. The centrality of the
ontological-sacramental dimension and the consequent Eucharistic dimension of
the Priesthood are the spheres of the natural understanding, development and
existential fidelity to Celibacy. The
essential question, then, is not to direct the debate so much to Celibacy as to
the quality of the faith of our communities. Could a community which lacks
great esteem for Celibacy, as an “awaiting” for the Kingdom or as a Eucharistic
“yearning”, be truly said to be alive?
7. Your
colloquium has “Foundations, joys, challenges” as a subtitle. I am persuaded
that the first two, knowledge of the foundations and the joyous experience of
Celibacy lived to the full, that is thus profoundly humane, provide a response
not only to the challenges that the world always makes to Celibacy, but that
this will also make of Celibacy a challenge for the world. As already alluded
to in the first point of these conclusions, we must allow ourselves to be conditioned
or intimidated by a world without God, which does not understand Celibacy and
that would like to remove it. On the
contrary, we must recuperate the reasoned understanding that our Celibacy
offers as a challenge to the world, placing its secularism and agnosticism in
profound crisis and crying out, through the centuries, that God is Present and Active!