PITTSBURGH — The Vatican’s new secretary of state said the Catholic Church’s rule on priest celibacy is not set in stone, and could be up for discussion.
For centuries, priests in the Catholic Church have been forced to keep ecclesiastical celibacy, which is a state of being unmarried and sexually abstinent.
A candid discussion about the requirement that priests remain chaste would be welcome in the United States, where about 30,000 former priests have left because they wanted to pursue a relationship, Thomas Groome, a professor of theology at Boston College, told NBC News.
“I think it would be an enormously welcome conversation,” Groome said. “I think Catholics, certainly American Catholics, but Catholics of the world, have been waiting for this conversation.”
Bishop David Zubik said Pope Francis’s new secretary of state raised a fair point about discussing the issue.
“I think it’s important always to discuss important realities and when you’re dealing with dogmas, that’s one thing. There can’t be any change in dogmas but if talking about discipline or practice, there should be discussion on it,” Zubik said.
The pope’s second in command said priestly celibacy is not a church dogma, but a tradition, and therefore, open for discussion. He also said it’s one of the biggest challenges facing the new pope and affects things like the shortages of priests.
“I think a lot of other religions, they do. Catholics never did. I think there’d be a lot more priests,” one Catholic said Thursday after attending mass.
Zubik said he welcomes the dialogue, but doubts it will have any bearing on whether or not priests can marry.
“I hope people through those discussions have a much deeper appreciates of why celibacy has been an important part of the tradition and why it continues to have good standing in the life of the church today,” Zubik said.
WPXI
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