Heretical Celibacy Jesus’ First Priesthood Following American sex abuse scandals of 2002, independent Catholic scholars and historians began to reexamine the ancient law of mandatory celibacy and its potential effect on abuse crimes committed by celibate priests. Today, many Church historians and scriptural scholars acknowledge that Jesus did not suggest, request, or demand priests remain celibate in order to serve. As Jesus and the apostles left the matter, all Christians, including priests, were allowed to freely choose either marriage or celibacy. All of Jesus’ apostles were married; Jewish law commanded all Jews must marry by age 20. In the New Testament, St. Paul preached against “hypocrites” who say “marriage is forbidden”. While Paul was unmarried in his early life third century Church scriptural scholar Origen, b.185AD, among others, wrote that Paul later married Lydia, (mentioned in the New Testament), whom he lived with. Contrary to popular myth, it is also acknowledged by historians that the apostles continued to live with their wives, as witnessed by St. Peter and his wife Perpetua who were imprisoned and executed in Rome c.67AD, 37 years after Christ’s crucifixion. Since its beginning as a Jewish sect, Christianity had followed Judaism in allowing priestly marriage, and before the third century the first 14 popes were all married men. Only as the Church approached its third century did brilliant celibate pagans such as the second century Patristic Fathers begin to convert, eventually becoming leading bishops and theologians who promoted the divine superiority of celibacy for priests. These Patristics, who are today venerated by Church celibacy apologists, brought with them their lifelong Gnostic philosophy that celibacy spiritually elevated priests above ordinary humans, a philosophy that did not originate with either Jesus or His apostles. It was they who first preached the apostles had abandoned their wives in order to imitate Jesus’ celibate lifestyle. Initially they failed, and priests continued to marry. Today official Church literature states, “No law forbidding priestly marriage existed during the life of Jesus and His apostles.” This acknowledgement alone reveals that today’s celibacy law prohibiting priestly marriage represents a change in Jesus’ teaching – as anti-Catholics have alleged for centuries. While the Church now demands only celibate priests, it has scrupulously avoided any formal teaching that celibacy was originally required, or that Jesus expected future priests to remain unmarried. So, when did mandatory celibacy begin, and why?
A New Papal Priesthood Following Emperor Constantine’s acceptance of Christianity, c.313AD, change began. In 360AD new Emperor, Julian ‘The Apostate’, attempted to reinstate ancient Gnostic pagan religions Constantine had condemned. Julian nearly succeeded, but died only two years later. Fearing another pagan revival, and knowing celibate pagan priests continued to be more venerated across the empire than married Christian priests, new pope Siricius acted decisively. Based solely on the Patristic era’s philosophy of celibacy’s spiritual superiority, Siricius became the first pope to declare the apostles had abandoned sex with their wives in order to imitate Jesus’ celibate lifestyle. He then instituted a new priestly requirement, the Rule of Continence, declaring priests must live in sexual abstinence; Siricius himself separated from his wife and children in order to assume the papacy. This was the first papal assault on the Holy Sacrament of Matrimony as preached by Christ and St. Paul. This Rule of Continence ultimately failed simply because most bishops rejected such an onerous demand and remained married. But things changed again 700 years later when Pope Innocent II realized the Church was losing vast wealth because many bishops personally owned their dioceses and willed them to family heirs – thus depriving the Church.
Bishop Giuseppe Versaldi of Rome states, “It’s been established that there’s no link between celibacy and sex abuse, it is known that sexual abuse of minors is more widespread among lay people and those who are married than by celibate priest.” Such denial is universal among Church celibacy apologists, but their problem is that such claims are easily disproved. No one suggests that any priest of either sexual orientation who is blessed with the true gift of celibacy would sexually abuse anyone. But such numbers are stunning for the uninformed Catholic when Dr. Sipe’s findings reveal that only 10% of Catholic priests and bishops fully live out their vow of celibacy, while 40% lapse only occasionally 50% are continuously active. Tragically, virtuous priests and bishops are not distinguishable from predator priests and bishops; most priests are good men, but they are merely human men who do not have the God given Grace of celibacy. Comparing Sipe’s statistics to Bishop Versaldi’s statement would indicate that 90% of the Catholic laity engages in illicit sex. Such an assertion is beneath dignity. Many Catholic historians and scholars have for years viewed the Papal Doctrine of mandatory celibacy as illicit, because it nullifies an unchangeable doctrine of Christ that permitted priests both Sacraments of marriage and ordination. Pointing out today’s change, scholars note the Church defines heresy as, “one who having accepted the faith of Christ corrupts its doctrine.” Mandatory celibacy must be judged by this Catholic definition. Today, many Catholic historians realize the apostles did not abandon their wives in order to imitate Jesus, they also note that even had the apostles agreed to observe sexual abstinence it would have been their freewill choice, a choice that Christ allowed, but today a choice the pope does not permit. Today a man cannot choose to become a priest unless he rejects the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony; he is coerced into rejecting a Sacramental Grace in order to become a priest. In Catholic theology the seven Sacraments are unique; each imprints a sanctifying Grace upon the soul of the recipient, a unique Grace from God, a Grace now denied to priests. This denial would today prevent St. Peter’s ordination to the priesthood, because he was married.The
Truth Begins To Emerge In 1545 the truth began to appear and things began to unravel for popes during the Council of Trent when it declared, infallibly, “All Sacraments of the New Testament were instituted by Jesus Christ.” – A time when Jesus permitted priestly marriage. This infallible declaration, resting upon the Church’s infallibility credentials, raised troubling questions; if Jesus infallibly permitted priestly marriage should not priests now be allowed to marry? No. It would be another three centuries before new evidence surfaced, and mandatory celibacy remained. In 1870 an incident arose during First Vatican Council that would require a new and different explanation of mandatory celibacy, when Pope Pius IX successfully coerced the Cardinals into declaring him infallible when speaking for God. Such a declaration of individual infallibility would permit the pope, individually and without agreement of the Church, to speak infallibly for God under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “From the Chair of Peter.” The Cardinals were rightly concerned that later popes with such authority might declare new doctrines not preached by Christ. In order to limit such papal authority an agreement was reached; they inserted into the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church a limit of papal infallibility, stating, “The Holy Spirit was promised to the successors of Peter not so that they might, by His [Holy Spirit] revelation, make known some new doctrine.” With this declaration it became apparent that mandatory celibacy must not be seen as “some new doctrine” not taught by Christ; thus necessitating a new definition. Since that time mandatory celibacy has been termed merely a required apostolic tradition, a discipline that men gladly accept in order to become priests. Only after 1870 do we find Church denials that mandatory celibacy was originally taught as Church doctrine based upon apostolic tradition. This discipline denying a Sanctifying Grace from God, left to us by Christ, remains with us today as an illicit, man made doctrine; Church theologians aware of this change have remained silent for centuries. Only after 900 years has this matter been exposed as the injustice it is, an injustice against the Body of Christ, the Church, an injustice resulting in the scandal of mandatory celibacy, a law that has resulted in worldwide sex abuse committed by clerics of all rank.
Ultimately it must be acknowledged this is not a problem originated by bishops, for centuries they have merely enforced papal decrees demanding secrecy. Sex abuse scandals were historically, and are today, originated by our popes. Church attempts to dissociate any pope from the covert and systemic concealment of dysfunctional priests are fatuous. This writer agrees with theologians who see the papal demand of mandatory celibacy as “corrupting the Doctrine of Christ”, and is therefore heretical. It clearly is. This writer also agrees with those who see this law of forced celibacy to be the primary cause of clerical sex-abuse. Sex abuse is not a modern problem; papal heresies such as today’s must be assigned to all popes since Pope Innocent II of 1139AD. Finally, mandatory celibacy was originated by Gnostics, and this law represents an intentional and knowing papal change of Christ’s infallible dogma; but infallibility is truth and truth does not later change nor contradict itself, thus revealing papal claims of infallibility are false. It is now time for another reformation, a Catholic Reformation.
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