Pope Francis greets a new priest during a 2015 ordination Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican April 26. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
In just three months a relative handful of bishops meeting in Rome is expected to reach a decision with potentially momentous consequences for the entire Western Church. The bishops will be participants in a long-awaited regional synod of bishops for the Amazon region of South America. The decision they are expected to reach is to ask the Pope for permission to ordain elderly married men to celebrate Mass, or at least for permission formally to study doing that.
Pope Francis is expected to say yes. The permission will apply only to Amazonia. But bishops elsewhere–Germany is a case in point–will be watching closely and weighing doing the same.
And then–who knows what happens after that? Will the synod’s action prove to have been a reasonable step toward solving a serious pastoral problem in vast, priest-starved Amazonia? Will history see it as the opening step toward undermining priestly in the Western Church at large? Or will be a bit of both?
With seemingly providential good timing, as the Church waits to see what the synod does, a new book by an American priest has appeared that makes the case for celibacy with admirable clarity and conviction. The book, from Emmaus Road Publishing, is Why Celibacy? Reclaiming the Fatherhood of the Priest. It is the work of Father Carter Griffin, a convert to Catholicism, graduate of Princeton University, and former Navy line officer who is now rector of St. John Paul II Seminary in Washington, D.C.
The book is not a polemic directed against the Amazon synod or the ordination of married men–at least, when it’s a matter of exceptional measures for exceptional circumstances as may be the case in Amazonia. His principal target instead is optional celibacy, whose generalized adoption by the Church would be, he believes, a “great mistake.” He writes:
The burden of proof…rests on those who would challenge the Church’s longstanding faithfulness to priestly celibacy. There is not only a historical continuity that would be broken by relinquishing the gift; there is also a profound theological and pastoral congruence with the priestly vocation that would be set aside, at least in part, with manifold repercussions for the salvific ministry of the Church.
Proposals to diminish the commitment to celibacy, he says, have their origin largely in “a spirit of fear and a failure to see the radical claims of the priesthood, rather than from an evangelical spirit of confidence in God’s grace.”
Father Griffin sees no merit in the unsubstantiated assertion that celibacy causes clerical sex abuse. On the contrary, he argues, when priests become abusers it is a failure not of celibacy but of chastity and, beyond that, “a failure to live celibacy as priestly fathers. Good fathers simply do not abuse their children, and they tolerate no one who might.”
Be that as it may, it now seems possible that a limited experiment in married priesthood may soon be underway in the Amazon and perhaps some other places. Considering the implications for the entire Church, it seems more than a little strange that this should be left in the hands of “synodality” at work in an isolated corner of worldwide Catholicism.
And whatever happens in Amazonia–or, for that matter, in Rome–there plainly is need to devote serious attention to understanding and promoting priestly celibacy as the vehicle of what Father Griffin calls priestly fatherhood–a chosen instrument of men who, in words of Mother Teresa which he quotes, collaborate with Jesus “to fill heaven with God’s children.”
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Pope Francis prays during Christmas Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 24, 2023. / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Dec 24, 2023 / 18:00 pm (CNA).
Below is the full text of Pope Francis’ homily for the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, delivered on Dec. 24, 2023, in St. Peter’s Basilica.
“A census of the whole earth” (cf. Lk 2:1). This was the context in which Jesus was born, and the Gospel makes a point of it. The census might have been mentioned in passing, but instead is carefully noted. And in this way, a great contrast emerges. While the emperor numbers the world’s inhabitants, God enters it almost surreptitiously. While those who exercise power seek to take their place with the great ones of history, the King of history chooses the way of littleness. None of the powerful take notice of him: only a few shepherds, relegated to the margins of social life.
The census speaks of something else. In the Scriptures, the taking of a census has negative associations. King David, tempted by large numbers and an unhealthy sense of self-sufficiency, sinned gravely by ordering a census of the people. He wanted to know how powerful he was. After some nine months, he knew how many men could wield a sword (cf. 2 Sam 24:1-9). The Lord was angered and the people suffered. On this night, however, Jesus, the “Son of David”, after nine months in Mary’s womb, is born in Bethlehem, the city of David. He does not impose punishment for the census, but humbly allows himself to be registered as one among many. Here we see, not a god of wrath and chastisement, but the God of mercy, who takes flesh and enters the world in weakness, heralded by the announcement: “on earth peace among those whom he favors” (Lk 2:14). Tonight, our hearts are in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is once more rejected by the futile logic of war, by the clash of arms that even today prevents him from finding room in the world (cf. Lk 2:7).
The census of the whole earth, in a word, manifests the all-too-human thread that runs through history: the quest for worldly power and might, fame and glory, which measures everything in terms of success, results, numbers and figures, a world obsessed with achievement. Yet the census also manifests the way of Jesus, who comes to seek us through enfleshment. He is not the god of accomplishment, but the God of Incarnation. He does not eliminate injustice from above by a show of power, but from below, by a show of love. He does not burst on the scene with limitless power, but descends to the narrow confines of our lives. He does not shun our frailties, but makes them his own.
Christmas Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on the night of Dec. 24, 2023. Vatican Media
Brothers and sisters, tonight we might ask ourselves: Which God do we believe in? In the God of incarnation or the god of achievement? Because there is always a risk that we can celebrate Christmas while thinking of God in pagan terms, as a powerful potentate in the sky; a god linked to power, worldly success, and the idolatry of consumerism. With the false image of a distant and petulant deity who treats the good well and the bad poorly; a deity made in our own image and likeness, handy for resolving our problems and removing our ills. God, on the other hand, waves no magic wand; he is no god of commerce who promises “everything all at once”. He does not save us by pushing a button, but draws near us, in order to change our world from within. Yet how deeply ingrained is the worldly notion of a distant, domineering, unbending, and powerful deity who helps his own to prevail against others! So many times this image is ingrained in us. But that is not the case: our God was born for all, during a census of the whole earth.
Let us look, then, to the “living and true God” (1 Thess 1:9). The God who is beyond all human reckoning and yet allows himself to be numbered by our accounting. The God, who revolutionizes history by becoming a part of history. The God who so respects us as to allow us to reject him; who takes away sin by taking it upon himself; who does not eliminate pain but transforms it; who does not remove problems from our lives but grants us a hope that is greater than all our problems. God so greatly desires to embrace our lives that, infinite though he is, he becomes finite for our sake. In his greatness, he chooses to become small; in his righteousness, he submits to our injustice. Brothers and sisters, this is the wonder of Christmas: not a mixture of sappy emotions and worldly contentment, but the unprecedented tenderness of a God who saves the world by becoming incarnate. Let us contemplate the Child, let us contemplate the manger, his crib, which the angels call “a sign” for us (cf. Lk 2:12). For it truly is the sign that reveals God’s face, a face of compassion and mercy, whose might is shown always and only in love. He makes himself close, tender, and compassionate. This is God’s way: closeness, compassion, tenderness.
Pope Francis brings a figure of the Christ child over to the nativity scene inside of St. Peter’s Basilica at the end of Mass. Vatican Media
Sisters and brothers, let us marvel at the fact that he “became flesh” (Jn 1:14). Flesh: the very word evokes our human frailty. The Gospel uses this word to show us that God completely assumed our human condition. Why did he go to such lengths? Because he cares for us, because he loves us to the point that he considers us more precious than all else. Dear brother, dear sister, to God, who changed history in the course of a census, you are not a number, but a face. Your name is written on his heart. But if you look to your own heart, and think of your own inadequacies and this world that is so judgmental and unforgiving, you may feel it difficult to celebrate this Christmas. You may think things are going badly, or feel dissatisfied with your limitations, your failings, your problems, and your sins. Today, though, please, let Jesus take the initiative. He says to you, “For your sake, I became flesh; for your sake, I became just like you”. So why remain caught up in your troubles? Like the shepherds, who left their flocks, leave behind the prison of your sorrows and embrace the tender love of the God who became a child. Put aside your masks and your armor; cast your cares on him and he will care for you (cf. Ps 55:22). He became flesh; he is looking not for your achievements but for your open and trusting heart. In him, you will rediscover who you truly are: a beloved son or daughter of God. Now you can believe it, for tonight the Lord was born to light up your life; his eyes are alight with love for you. We have difficulty believing in this, that God’s eyes shine with love for us.
Christmas Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on the night of Dec. 24, 2023. Vatican Media
Christ does not look at numbers, but at faces. However, who looks at him amid the many distractions and mad rush of a bustling and indifferent world? Who is watching? In Bethlehem, as crowds of people were caught up in the excitement of the census, coming and going, filling the inns, and engaged in petty conversation, a few were close to Jesus: Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, and then the Magi.
Let us learn from them. They stood gazing upon Jesus, with their hearts set on him. They did not speak, they worshiped. Tonight, brothers and sisters, is a time of adoration, of worship.
Worship is the way to embrace the Incarnation. For it is in silence that Jesus, the Word of the Father, becomes flesh in our lives. Let us do as they did, in Bethlehem, a town whose name means “House of Bread”. Let us stand before him who is the Bread of Life. Let us rediscover worship, for to worship is not to waste time, but to make our time a dwelling place for God. It is to let the seed of the Incarnation bloom within us; it is to cooperate in the work of the Lord, who, like leaven, changes the world. To worship is to intercede, to make reparation, to allow God to realign history. As a great teller of epic tales once wrote to his son, “I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament… There you will find romance, glory, honor, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves on earth” (J.R.R. TOLKIEN, Letter 43, March 1941).
Brothers and sisters, tonight love changes history. Make us believe, Lord, in the power of your love, so different from the power of the world. Lord, make us, like Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the Magi, gather around you and worship you. As you conform us ever more to yourself, we shall bear witness before the world to the beauty of your countenance.
Cardinal Robert Sarah offers Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for his 50th anniversary of priesthood in 2019. / Credit: Evandro Inetti/CNA.
Mexico City Newsroom, Jul 5, 2023 / 16:10 pm (CNA).
Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, stressed that “the priesthood is unique” and warned that “no council, no synod” can “invent a female priesthood.”
In his conference on the priesthood, entitled “Joyful Servants of the Gospel” given July 3 at the Conciliar Seminary in Mexico City, the cardinal assured that no one “has the power to transform this divine gift to adapt it and reduce its transcendent value to the cultural and environmental field.”
“No council, no synod, no ecclesiastical authority has the power to invent a female priesthood … without seriously damaging the perennial physiognomy of the priest, his sacramental identity, within the renewed ecclesiological vision of the Church, mystery, communion, and mission,” he emphasized.
Sarah stressed that “the Catholic faith professes that the sacrament of Holy Orders, instituted by Christ the Lord, is one, it is identical for the universal Church. For Jesus, there is no African, German, Amazonia, or European priesthood. The priesthood is unique, it is identical for the universal Church.”
Priesthood ‘a gift’
In his conference, the prefect emeritus also reflected on “being a priest” and stressed that “the priesthood is a great, great mystery, so great a gift that it would be a sin to waste it.”
“It’s a divine gift that must be received, understood, and lived, and the Church has always sought to understand and enter deeper into the real and proper being of the priest, as a baptized man, called to be an alter Christus, another Christ, even more so an ipse Christus, Christ himself, to represent Him, to conform to Him, to be configured and mediated in Christ with priestly ordination,” he explained.
For the Guinean prelate, “the priest is a man of God who is day and night in the presence of God to glorify him, to adore him. The priest is a man immolated in sacrifice to prolong the sacrifice of Christ for the salvation of the world.”
The cardinal said that the “first task” of priests “is to pray, because the priest is a man of prayer: He begins his day with the Office of Readings and ends his day with the Office.”
“A priest who does not pray is about to die. A Church that does not pray is a dead Church,” he warned.
Regarding the lack of priestly vocations, he encouraged the faithful to pray because “it’s not that we are few.”
“Christ ordained 12 for the whole world. How many of us are priests today? There are close to 400,000 of us priests in the world. There are too many of us,” he said, citing the same observation made by Pope Gregory the Great in the 7th century.
“Many have accepted the priesthood, but they’re not doing the work of the priest,” Sarah explained.
“So in response, we must pray. Ask him to send workers to his harvest, pray. And show that we priests are happy, because if young men see that we are sad, we won’t attract anyone.” he urged. “We have to be happy, even if we’re suffering.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Shaw writes of possible steps toward a married priesthood for the Amazon: “Pope Francis is expected to say yes. The permission will apply only to [the possibly in-extremis] Amazonia. But bishops elsewhere [elsewhere, really?]–Germany is a case in point–will be watching closely and weighing doing the same.”
It was none other than the German (!) Cardinal Kasper who through the media planted the pre-synodal (!) expectation. So, in reality: the Synod of AMAZONIA/GERMANIA?
One longs for the TRANSPARENT COHERENCE of barely yesteryear, as when the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation “The Church in America” was released (1999) after the parallel Assemblies for Africa (1994), America (1997), Asia (1998), Oceania (1998) and shortly before the fifth continent—Europe (1999); and ALL of this in advance of the coming together of the universal Church’s Great Jubilee of the Year 2000.
The UNIVERSAL Church was not yet sliced and diced into more fragmented and VERY-SEQUENTIAL synods (and other gatherings)—seemingly assisted by pre-selected ventriloquists like Kasper or the eccentric Fr. James Martin (for the World Meeting of Families).
Five years back, Pope Francis wisely and urgently warned about an overly complex and therefore doomed “House of CARDS” kind of evangelization. BUT, what now about this “Line of DOMINOS”?
The BIG QUESTION—a single-hearted priesthood of alter Christus versus a non-celibate (and seminary-exempt?) priesthood—should be approached and remembered (!) in a big way. Not only in extremis, but in a universal way, both. And probably not split like Solomon’s baby?
In the end, is Amazonia setting the table for Germania? Without prejudice to actual Synod discernment—if the very recent past is any guide—why not at least beware of podium management, unvetted last-minute paragraphs, and open-ended footnotes?
Shaw writes of possible steps toward a married priesthood for the Amazon: “Pope Francis is expected to say yes. The permission will apply only to [the possibly in-extremis] Amazonia. But bishops elsewhere [elsewhere, really?]–Germany is a case in point–will be watching closely and weighing doing the same.”
It was none other than the German (!) Cardinal Kasper who through the media planted the pre-synodal (!) expectation. So, in reality: the Synod of AMAZONIA/GERMANIA?
One longs for the TRANSPARENT COHERENCE of barely yesteryear, as when the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation “The Church in America” was released (1999) after the parallel Assemblies for Africa (1994), America (1997), Asia (1998), Oceania (1998) and shortly before the fifth continent—Europe (1999); and ALL of this in advance of the coming together of the universal Church’s Great Jubilee of the Year 2000.
The UNIVERSAL Church was not yet sliced and diced into more fragmented and VERY-SEQUENTIAL synods (and other gatherings)—seemingly assisted by pre-selected ventriloquists like Kasper or the eccentric Fr. James Martin (for the World Meeting of Families).
Five years back, Pope Francis wisely and urgently warned about an overly complex and therefore doomed “House of CARDS” kind of evangelization. BUT, what now about this “Line of DOMINOS”?
The BIG QUESTION—a single-hearted priesthood of alter Christus versus a non-celibate (and seminary-exempt?) priesthood—should be approached and remembered (!) in a big way. Not only in extremis, but in a universal way, both. And probably not split, like Solomon’s baby?
In the end, is Amazonia setting the table for Germania? Without prejudice to actual Synod discernment—if the very recent past is any guide—why not at least beware of podium management, unvetted last-minute paragraphs, and open-ended footnotes?
Like wind and rain on a rock slowly it becomes smaller. The original rock no longer looks the same. Underneath it all, should all the wind and rain wash and blow the rock down to a single pebble, it will still be the rock and nothing will change that. However, it would seem that, little by little, the wind and rain of the Vatican, Germans, Fr. Martins of this faith want the rock to become an insignificant pebble to further their own agendas. Little by little the Church edges toward protestantism or, worse still, schism.
This is the camel’s nose under the tent. Just like medical marijuana was the innocuous stepping stone to legalization, married priest in the Amazon will be the stepping stone for eliminating priestly celibacy. The Church better think long and hard on this.
Any thinking, if any at all, has already been done. The preordained conclusions of this synod, like all the previous synods, are locked in and are waiting to be delivered to the bishop of Rome.
Germania will follow Amazonia and schism will follow both. Unless, of course, the Lord intervenes in His own good time. So be it.
Pope F is hand-picked by the infantalizing viceroys of the POWER PREDATOR Cult.
These include “his friends” McCarrick and Danneels (the last Belgian Cardinal who was exposed in the Belgian newspapers (search and read the newspaper stories in DeStaandard and De Nieuwsblad in August 2010) for covering up the abuse of the Belgian McCarrick Bishop Roger Vangelhuwe…and trying to deny justice to the Vangelhuwe family…who sought justice against their own uncle who raped his own little nephew).
Every thought and act of this sordid pontificate is a form of abuse, and every communication is manipulation and gaslighting.
And Cardinal Kasper of Germany and his like-minded German Bishops (such as Robert Zollitsch) promote and teach material heresy.
Celibacy is a good and important thing. But it was not demanded by Our Lord. It is not of divine origin as are the Holy Sacraments. So for those without long term access to the Sacraments celibacy in more important than the divinely given Sacraments?
access to priests in many p
There may be some historic continuity after the apostolic period with mandatory celibacy; but there is none with Scripture. ‘Husband of one wife’ is still there. This is reason enough to allow a married clergy without needing any further explanations or rationalizations.
Is this article not finished? It ends in mid sentence: “Considering the…”
Thank you for pointing this out. The article is now fixed/completed.
You bet. Thank you.
Shaw writes of possible steps toward a married priesthood for the Amazon: “Pope Francis is expected to say yes. The permission will apply only to [the possibly in-extremis] Amazonia. But bishops elsewhere [elsewhere, really?]–Germany is a case in point–will be watching closely and weighing doing the same.”
It was none other than the German (!) Cardinal Kasper who through the media planted the pre-synodal (!) expectation. So, in reality: the Synod of AMAZONIA/GERMANIA?
One longs for the TRANSPARENT COHERENCE of barely yesteryear, as when the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation “The Church in America” was released (1999) after the parallel Assemblies for Africa (1994), America (1997), Asia (1998), Oceania (1998) and shortly before the fifth continent—Europe (1999); and ALL of this in advance of the coming together of the universal Church’s Great Jubilee of the Year 2000.
The UNIVERSAL Church was not yet sliced and diced into more fragmented and VERY-SEQUENTIAL synods (and other gatherings)—seemingly assisted by pre-selected ventriloquists like Kasper or the eccentric Fr. James Martin (for the World Meeting of Families).
Five years back, Pope Francis wisely and urgently warned about an overly complex and therefore doomed “House of CARDS” kind of evangelization. BUT, what now about this “Line of DOMINOS”?
The BIG QUESTION—a single-hearted priesthood of alter Christus versus a non-celibate (and seminary-exempt?) priesthood—should be approached and remembered (!) in a big way. Not only in extremis, but in a universal way, both. And probably not split like Solomon’s baby?
In the end, is Amazonia setting the table for Germania? Without prejudice to actual Synod discernment—if the very recent past is any guide—why not at least beware of podium management, unvetted last-minute paragraphs, and open-ended footnotes?
Shaw writes of possible steps toward a married priesthood for the Amazon: “Pope Francis is expected to say yes. The permission will apply only to [the possibly in-extremis] Amazonia. But bishops elsewhere [elsewhere, really?]–Germany is a case in point–will be watching closely and weighing doing the same.”
It was none other than the German (!) Cardinal Kasper who through the media planted the pre-synodal (!) expectation. So, in reality: the Synod of AMAZONIA/GERMANIA?
One longs for the TRANSPARENT COHERENCE of barely yesteryear, as when the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation “The Church in America” was released (1999) after the parallel Assemblies for Africa (1994), America (1997), Asia (1998), Oceania (1998) and shortly before the fifth continent—Europe (1999); and ALL of this in advance of the coming together of the universal Church’s Great Jubilee of the Year 2000.
The UNIVERSAL Church was not yet sliced and diced into more fragmented and VERY-SEQUENTIAL synods (and other gatherings)—seemingly assisted by pre-selected ventriloquists like Kasper or the eccentric Fr. James Martin (for the World Meeting of Families).
Five years back, Pope Francis wisely and urgently warned about an overly complex and therefore doomed “House of CARDS” kind of evangelization. BUT, what now about this “Line of DOMINOS”?
The BIG QUESTION—a single-hearted priesthood of alter Christus versus a non-celibate (and seminary-exempt?) priesthood—should be approached and remembered (!) in a big way. Not only in extremis, but in a universal way, both. And probably not split, like Solomon’s baby?
In the end, is Amazonia setting the table for Germania? Without prejudice to actual Synod discernment—if the very recent past is any guide—why not at least beware of podium management, unvetted last-minute paragraphs, and open-ended footnotes?
Like wind and rain on a rock slowly it becomes smaller. The original rock no longer looks the same. Underneath it all, should all the wind and rain wash and blow the rock down to a single pebble, it will still be the rock and nothing will change that. However, it would seem that, little by little, the wind and rain of the Vatican, Germans, Fr. Martins of this faith want the rock to become an insignificant pebble to further their own agendas. Little by little the Church edges toward protestantism or, worse still, schism.
This is the camel’s nose under the tent. Just like medical marijuana was the innocuous stepping stone to legalization, married priest in the Amazon will be the stepping stone for eliminating priestly celibacy. The Church better think long and hard on this.
Any thinking, if any at all, has already been done. The preordained conclusions of this synod, like all the previous synods, are locked in and are waiting to be delivered to the bishop of Rome.
Germania will follow Amazonia and schism will follow both. Unless, of course, the Lord intervenes in His own good time. So be it.
Pope F is hand-picked by the infantalizing viceroys of the POWER PREDATOR Cult.
These include “his friends” McCarrick and Danneels (the last Belgian Cardinal who was exposed in the Belgian newspapers (search and read the newspaper stories in DeStaandard and De Nieuwsblad in August 2010) for covering up the abuse of the Belgian McCarrick Bishop Roger Vangelhuwe…and trying to deny justice to the Vangelhuwe family…who sought justice against their own uncle who raped his own little nephew).
Every thought and act of this sordid pontificate is a form of abuse, and every communication is manipulation and gaslighting.
And Cardinal Kasper of Germany and his like-minded German Bishops (such as Robert Zollitsch) promote and teach material heresy.
My reference to Danneels was written to say “the late” Belgian Cardinal. The robot changed it…sorry…
Celibacy is a good and important thing. But it was not demanded by Our Lord. It is not of divine origin as are the Holy Sacraments. So for those without long term access to the Sacraments celibacy in more important than the divinely given Sacraments?
access to priests in many p
There may be some historic continuity after the apostolic period with mandatory celibacy; but there is none with Scripture. ‘Husband of one wife’ is still there. This is reason enough to allow a married clergy without needing any further explanations or rationalizations.