“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall
not prevail against it.”1
Thus spoke Our Lord Jesus to His apostle, Peter, and for 2,000 years His words have rung true.
Despite wars, plagues, persecutions, and the sinfulness of the Church's members, the Church herself
endured and spread throughout the world. As the centuries passed, Catholicism's canon – both Sacred
Scripture and Sacred Tradition – grew into the norm we now know today. One of our rules, which
separates us from many other Christian churches, is that our priests are to be celibate – that is, they
cannot marry and must abstain from all sexual activity. Speculation over whether or not celibacy should still be required in today's Church is ongoing. Even many Catholics do not understand why priests are forbidden to marry. They haven't heard a good …show more content…
Some say: “It is not right for anyone to completely deny himself sex. It is just too hard to bear.” Others say: “Young men are not entering the priesthood anymore. There are plenty of good married men who would be willing to become priests. If they want to become priests, they should be allowed to.” Someone once told me that he knows non-Catholic Christian ministers, who are married with families, and they are highly successful in bringing new members to their churches. Arguments range from general remarks such as: “Priests get lonely” or “Priests don't understand marriage and family matters because they are not married” to very specific statements like: “It (celibacy) was explained to me this way – 'you cannot serve two masters'. I didn't know your wife was supposed to be your master” or “So, priests are supposed to be celibate? Well, the Apostles were married. And you know what they did? They abandoned their wives. That can't be
not prevail against it.”1
Thus spoke Our Lord Jesus to His apostle, Peter, and for 2,000 years His words have rung true.
Despite wars, plagues, persecutions, and the sinfulness of the Church's members, the Church herself
endured and spread throughout the world. As the centuries passed, Catholicism's canon – both Sacred
Scripture and Sacred Tradition – grew into the norm we now know today. One of our rules, which
separates us from many other Christian churches, is that our priests are to be celibate – that is, they
cannot marry and must abstain from all sexual activity. Speculation over whether or not celibacy should still be required in today's Church is ongoing. Even many Catholics do not understand why priests are forbidden to marry. They haven't heard a good …show more content…
Some say: “It is not right for anyone to completely deny himself sex. It is just too hard to bear.” Others say: “Young men are not entering the priesthood anymore. There are plenty of good married men who would be willing to become priests. If they want to become priests, they should be allowed to.” Someone once told me that he knows non-Catholic Christian ministers, who are married with families, and they are highly successful in bringing new members to their churches. Arguments range from general remarks such as: “Priests get lonely” or “Priests don't understand marriage and family matters because they are not married” to very specific statements like: “It (celibacy) was explained to me this way – 'you cannot serve two masters'. I didn't know your wife was supposed to be your master” or “So, priests are supposed to be celibate? Well, the Apostles were married. And you know what they did? They abandoned their wives. That can't be