蜜桃交友

By Andrea Tornielli

A book on the priesthood that bears the signatures of Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, with a contribution from the Pope emeritus Benedict XVI (updated following a statement by the Prefect of the Papal Household, Archbishop Georg Ganswein), will be published in France on 15 January. The pre-publication material provided by Le Figaro indicates that, with their contributions, the authors enter into the debate on celibacy and the possibility of ordaining married men as priests. Ratzinger and Sarah 鈥� who describe themselves as two bishops 鈥渋n filial obedience to Pope Francis鈥� who 鈥渟eek the truth鈥� in 鈥渁 spirit of love for the unity of the Church鈥� 鈥� defend the discipline of celibacy and put forth the reasons that in their opinion would advise against changing it. The question of celibacy occupies 175 pages of the book, with two texts 鈥� one by the Pope emeritus and the other by the Cardinal 鈥� together with an introduction and a conclusion signed by both.

In his text, Cardinal Sarah recalls that 鈥渢here is an ontological-sacramental link between priesthood and celibacy. Any weakening of this link would put into question the Magisterium of the [Second Vatican] Council and Popes Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI. I implore Pope Francis to protect us definitively from such a possibility by vetoing any weakening of the law of priestly celibacy, even if limited to one region or another鈥�. Cardinal Sarah goes so far as to describe the possibility of ordaining married men as 鈥渁 pastoral catastrophe, an ecclesiological confusion and an obscuring of the understanding of the priesthood鈥�. Reflecting on the subject in his brief contribution, Benedict XVI goes back to the Jewish roots of Christianity, affirming that from the beginning of God鈥檚 鈥渘ew covenant鈥� with humanity, which was established by Jesus, priesthood and celibacy are united. He recalls that already 鈥渋n the ancient Church鈥�, that is, in the first millennium, 鈥渕arried men could receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders only if they committed themselves to sexual abstinence鈥�.

Priestly celibacy is not, and has never been, a dogma. It is an ecclesiastical discipline of the Latin Church that represents a precious gift, as all the recent Pontiffs have affirmed. The Catholic Eastern-Rite Churches allow the possibility of ordaining married men as priests. Exceptions were also admitted in the Latin Church by Benedict XVI himself in the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus, dedicated to Anglican priests who seek communion with the Catholic Church, which provides for 鈥渢he admission of married men to the order of presbyter on a case by case basis, according to objective criteria approved by the Holy See鈥�.

It is worth remembering that Pope Francis too has expressed himself several times on the subject. While still a Cardinal, in the book conversation with Rabbi Abraham Skorka, he explained that he was in favor of maintaining celibacy: 鈥渨ith all the pros and cons entailed, in ten centuries there have been more positive experiences than there have been errors. Tradition has a weight and validity鈥�. In dialogue with journalists on the flight back from Panama last January, the Pope recalled that in the Eastern Catholic Churches the option of either celibacy or marriage before the diaconate is possible; but he added, regarding the Latin Church: 鈥淚 am reminded of that phrase of Saint Paul VI: 鈥業 would rather give my life than change the law on celibacy. It came to mind and I want to say it, because it is a courageous phrase, in a more difficult moment than this, 1968 / 1970... Personally, I think that celibacy is a gift for the Church. Second, I don鈥檛 agree with allowing optional celibacy, no.鈥� In his reply, he also spoke about the discussion among theologians about the possibility of granting exemptions for some remote regions, such as the Pacific islands. He specified, however, 鈥渢here鈥檚 no decision on my part. My decision is: optional celibacy before the diaconate, no. That鈥檚 something for me, something personal, I won鈥檛 do it, this remains clear. Am I 鈥榗losed鈥�? Maybe. But I don鈥檛 want to appear before God with this decision鈥�.

The Synod on the Amazon was held in October 2019, and the topic was debated there. As can be seen from the final document, there were bishops who asked for the possibility of ordaining married permanent deacons as priests. It is striking, however, that on 26 October, in his concluding speech, the Pope, after having followed all the stages of the speeches and discussion in the hall, did not mention in any way the subject of the ordination of married men, not even in passing. Instead, he recalled the four dimensions of the Synod: that of inculturation; the ecological dimension; the social dimension; and finally the pastoral dimension, which 鈥渋ncludes them all鈥�. In that same speech, the Pontiff spoke about creativity in new ministries, and the role of women; and referring to the scarcity of clergy in certain mission areas, he recalled that there are many priests from a certain country who have gone to the first world, for example, the United States and Europe, and 鈥渢here are not enough of them to send out to the Amazon region of that same country鈥�.

Finally, it is significant that Pope Francis, while thanking the media, also asked a favour of them at the same time: that in their dissemination of the Final Document, they would focus above all on the diagnosis "which is the more significant part, the part in which the Synod truly expressed itself best": the cultural, social, pastoral and ecological diagnosis. This point was also stressed by the Director of the Vatican Press Office, Matteo Bruni, in his communiquè responding to journalists' questions on the issue. The Pope asked that journalists not fall into the danger of focusing on 鈥渨hich party won and which one lost鈥�, when looking at what was decided concerning disciplinary issues.