celibacy

Hypothetically, what would happen if the bishop accidentally left out the part of the ordination Mass where the future priest promises celibacy? That wouldn’t mean that the new priest was actually free to marry, would it?

“This isn’t going to help a man develop a healthy sexual identity as a celibate priest; this is not, to my mind, the most effective way to do it,” said Daniella Zsupan-Jerome of the St. John’s University School of Theology and Seminary.

On Nov. 14-18, Bishop Dieser and other German bishops will be at the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis and other Vatican officials for their “ad limina” visits, periodic visits to report on the status of their dioceses.

This was the third of five assemblies of the Synodal Path, organized to revitalize the church and restore trust following a September 2018 church-commissioned report that detailed thousands of cases of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy over six decades.

The German bishops and a national council of laity designed the Synodal Path to discuss issues of power, sexual morality, priestly life and the role of women in the church.

The first synodal assembly on the future the Catholic Church in Germany drew both praise and some criticism ina special atmosphere in the debates on key reforms.

In his 38-page essay in the book, retired Pope Benedict did not mention specifically the practice of ordaining married men to the priesthood in the Christian East.

At the request of retired Pope Benedict XVI, his name will be removed as co-author of a book defending priestly celibacy, said Cardinal Robert Sarah, the Vatican official who coordinated work on the book.