Archbishop urges end to celibacy rules

[Stone]

Archbishop urges end to celibacy rules
The prominent German cardinal said some priests would be less lonely if the 12th-century rules were loosened

Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising, (FILE PHOTO) © Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP

MassNews | February 3, 2022


In feedback revealed on Wednesday by Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the archbishop of Munich, stated that dialogue was wanted as as to whether celibacy was nonetheless in one of the best pursuits of clergymen and the Catholic Church.

“For some clergymen, it will be higher in the event that they had been married – not only for sexual causes, however as a result of it will be higher for his or her life and so they would not be lonely,” Marx informed the newspaper in an interview. “We should maintain this dialogue.”

The German cardinal didn’t counsel that celibacy ought to be scrapped altogether however claimed there was a “query mark” over “whether or not it ought to be taken as a primary precondition for each priest.”

He said that, whereas celibacy has been part of the priesthood for hundreds of years, he can think about a time when clergymen are married.

Marx’s diocese was not too long ago shaken by a report into the dealing with of sexual abuse circumstances by clerics. Marx and his predecessors, together with retired Pope Benedict XVI, had been criticized for failing to behave appropriately in response to allegations introduced in opposition to members of the priesthood.

The cardinal is an ally of Pope Francis and has often urged reform of the Catholic Church. Final week, he said that deep reforms had been wanted to beat the “catastrophe” of sexual abuse.

Celibacy within the priesthood was solely formally launched in 1123 and once more in 1139. Nonetheless, the Twelfth-century transfer mirrored historic traditions within the church.