Eliminating the celibacy requirement for catolic priests Essay

Eliminating the celibacy requirement for catolic priests - Essay Example Without doubt some serious arguments can be presented supporting retaining clerical celibacy. One argument maintains that since Jesus himself was celibate and for the reason that the priesthood is a special vocation by which one follows Jesus, such a sacrifice is appropriate. In addition, celibacy serves as a sign of total devotion to the kingdom of God, a kingdom in which there will be no marriage: â€Å"for at the resurrection men and women do not marry; no, they are like the angels in heaven† (Matt 22:30). Lastly, celibacy functions as a witness that sexual activity, despite the fact that good, beautiful and important, is not the absolute essential it is held to be in western culture. To alter the celibacy requirement would be observed to give into cultural mores. (Sipe 85-88) On the other hand, there are a lot of arguments in favor of eliminating the requirement of celibacy. For instance, though it seems obvious that married, many of his apostles were married men. Further, the law of celibacy is a church law, not a divine law and can be changed should the Church believe it essential. A further suggestion supporting the lifting of the requirement of celibacy states that a married priest would be more pastorally sensitive to the needs of married couples as well as families if he were married himself.