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Mr John Borg Bartolo, in the issue of MaltaToday of 17 April, raises various issues connected with an interview which Mr Matthew Vella had with his Excellency, the Bishop of Gozo. Though not intending to respond in the Bishop’s stead, as an active member of the Catholic Church, I would like to specify some points of Catholic doctrine for readers in the general public who might be interested to know.
It seems to be a common belief that priestly celibacy is a price that the Church exacts from a man so as to confer onto him the high dignity of priesthood.
The Church truly holds that priestly celibacy is the form of a man’s total self-giving in love into the service of Christ and his flock in imitation of Christ his Master.
This personal self-giving to Christ and his Church brings about wonderful fruits within the ministry. There is, for example, the freedom to dedicate oneself and all one’s attention to the life of the Church and individuals. Should celibacy be made optional, people would not find their priests so lovingly available to meet their needs.
The Church has accumulated a vast wealth of wisdom both from its Founder and from the millennial experience of its existence. Priestly celibacy is the ripe and mature fruit coming from these sources. Should it be thrown away? And replaced by what?
Celibacy is a living sign of that Kingdom of which the Priest is a builder and servant. It is a Kingdom “not of this world” – where people build their own kingdoms. The spiritual strength and credibility of the official builders of the Kingdom emerge from their commitment to celibacy which speaks loudly of the time to come when this world will pass away and the only Kingdom to remain will be that of Jesus. Celibacy is not just a rule to be kept or discarded according to arguments and fashions of the times.
The Church has the authority to confer the grace of all the Sacraments, but does not in any way have the authorisation to remove the graces of the Sacraments once these have been given. This holds true of all the sacraments, marriage and the priesthood included. So once one is married, the Church cannot grant a divorce. Once one is a priest, the Church cannot remove that priesthood.
When priests are given permission to marry, they have to forego the exercise of the priesthood they still belong to. This permission is granted at the Pope’s discretion. What is involved here is that the promise the priest had made at this ordination not to enter into marriage after getting ordained is dissolved by the Church – through its head, and by the priest. The promise is not equivalent to the sacramental promise through which couples enter into marriage, as in this case that promise is itself the sacrament.
For centuries the Church has taught that the effect of the sacraments does not depend on the holiness of the life of the priest who administers the sacraments. The effect of the sacraments emerge from the holiness of God himself. The priest is only the minister of these graces. When priests do not live up to the greatness of their calling and ministry it is for God to judge. People ought not to be anxious about whether the sacraments they have received are valid or not, depending on the private life of the minister of those sacraments. We, the laity, need to pray regularly for the holiness and integrity of our priests.
Jane Camilleri Haber
Tarxien
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