Celibacy

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Celibacy

Celibacy refers either to being unmarried or to sexual abstinence. A vow of celibacy is a promise not to enter into marriage or engage in sexual intercourse. Some writers use it interchangeably as a synonym for abstinence or chastity, while other writers on sexuality draw a distinction between abstinence and celibacy, stating that celibacy means refraining from any sexual activity with a partner. They argue that this can be empowering, as it still allows that person to be "sexual" (through, for example, masturbation). This would not, however, be referred to as chaste celibacy, as masturbation is not considered a chaste act.

The term involuntary celibacy refers to lack of sexual intercourse for reasons other than (voluntary) abstinence, e.g. shyness/love-shyness.

Clerical celibacy

Clerical celibacy is a requirement for priests, a church law which is maintained by the Western Catholic Church and also by the monastic orders of Hindu and Buddhist traditions in the East. In the Orthodox Church ordinary parish priests are expected to be married men with families before ordination, and they need their family's approval to become a priest. Clerical celibacy was an important point of disagreement during the Reformation. Reformers argued that requiring a vow of celibacy from a priest was contrary to biblical teaching (see 1 Tim 4:1-5, Heb 13:4 and 1 Cor 9:5), a degradation of marriage and a reason for the widespread sexual misconduct within the clergy at the time of the Reformation (e.g., discussed by Calvin in his Institutes of the Christian Religion IV,12,23-28 ^*). The Church did not change its position claiming to be based on . The arguments against the Reformer's interpretations were some of the following: the Church never condemned or forbade marriage but has only required celibacy of those who would enter the priesthood so they could devote themselves completely to the care of Christ's Flock (see Mathew 19:12) or who have otherwise taken vows to do so of their own free will (in response to 1 Tim 4:1-5); the Church has never dishonored marriage but has elevated its honor from its Old Testament and secular status while acknowledging Christ's elevation of celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven to an even more honorable status (in response to Heb 13:4); and the Church has not required celibacy of all ecclesiastics at all times in history (it was not required of the majority of ecclesiastics in the early Church, and in modern times certain converts are permitted to be married when receiving Holy Orders), although Christ's counsel is normally followed (in response to 1 Cor. 9:5, which lists certain ecclesiastics who had the right at the time, but apparently chose not to exercise this right for the sake of the Gospel). The Church also found that the clerics who engaged in sexual misconduct were not sincere, unreserved followers of Christ, but those who had either become ecclesiastics with the wrong intentions or had lost their fidelity to Christ.

The Catholic Church's practice of clerical celibacy among priests and bishops of the Latin Rite and bishops of all rites, Eastern and Western, was confirmed by the Second Vatican Council and reaffirmed by Pope Paul VI in his encyclical letter, Sacerdotalis Caelibatus], June 24, 1967. Recently, the issue of celibacy for Catholic priests has again become a source of heated debate, partly in response to the decline in vocations, but also in the wake of discoveries of longstanding ephebophilic behaviour of a number of Catholic priests in the USA and elsewhere. Although a married priesthood is advocated by some to be a solution to these problems, the Church has not heeded this suggestion to date. Church representatives claim that sex crime problems are not caused by celibacy, but by poor or incorrect catechesis, by improper or incorrect seminary teaching, by underhanded seminary activity, and by a loss of fidelity to Christ and His Church. They further claim the sectors of the Church where fidelity to the Church's teachings is valued, there are a higher number of new vocations and a lower incidence of sexual abuse cases. ^*

Reasons for celibacy

Health reasons, to eliminate the risks of venereal disease.

Desire to focus energies on other matters, like social issues.

The Greater good: A refusal to reproduce, because it may be detrimental to society by contributing to over-population. Conversely, celibacy could be a means of preventing a hereditary condition or something like HIV from spreading.

It could make a relationship less complex and even more democratic. It can be argued that the historical Christian ideal was celibacy partially for this reason.

An inability to obtain a willing sexual partner, due to social awkwardness or anxiety, physical or mental handicap, or lack of physical attractiveness and/or financial resources (involuntary celibacy).

It could even be a case of no interest in sex or simply disliking sex.

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Clerical celibacy

Reasons for celibacy

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