Germany: Priestly Celibacy Under Discussion
Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, of Freiburg in Brisgau, newly elected president of the German Bishops’ Conference, spoke on priestly celibacy in the German magazine Der Spiegel of February 16-17.
He said he was against “interdictions to reflect”, and declared that the link between priesthood and celibacy was not “at all necessary from a theological viewpoint.” Celibacy, which is a “great gift”, is demanded in Latin Tradition, but in other Traditions, -- as in the Eastern rite Catholic churches -- married men are ordained. However, “this would be a revolution, which would not be followed by a portion of the Church,” he thought. And he added that this issue would fall into the competence of a new council and concerns the whole Catholic Church. Such a reform cannot be undertaken by a particular country. Archbishop Zollitsch recalled on this occasion that the reforms of the Second Vatican Council had not all yet been achieved.
The Archbishop also specified that access to the priesthood and the bishopric will remain reserved to men. This belongs to the mandatory structure of the Catholic Church because Jesus only called men to be his Apostles. However, women may preach in certain eucharistic celebrations, he conceded. In his eyes, women’s participation in pastoral care is a “magnificent” contribution.
These declarations started again the debate on priestly celibacy in Germany. Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller, of Regensburg, takes a firm stand against these speculations on the Church renouncing priestly celibacy. We must not expect the end of celibacy “neither now, nor in the future,” he declared in a press release, and he underlined that “the specificities of access to the priesthood and the corresponding regulations on celibacy cannot be developed, as a theological issue would require, in a short journalistic interview.” “In article 16 of the Decree on the ministry and the life of priests, the Second Vatican Council has specified the necessary conditions,” he added. “This is and will remain the discipline of the Catholic Church.”
Hans Joachim Meyer, President of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), declared to the daily Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, that, in his opinion, Archbishop Zollitsch’s statement was theologically sound, and that “an interview was not an essay.”
Wolfgang Beinert, a professor of dogmatic theology at the University of Regensburg, thinks that the debate on priestly celibacy is far from having reached its conclusion, and he advised that, for the good of the Church, there be no interdiction to reflect on the matter. According to him, priestly celibacy, which was commanded by Pope Gregory VII in the 11th century, is not found in Sacred Scriptures, and hence is a disciplinary prescription, and not a dogma. This German theologian recalled on this occasion the letter of the Apostle Paul to Timothy, in which it is written that the bishop must be blameless, “ the husband of one wife, sober, prudent, of good behavior, chaste, given to hospitality, a teacher.”
In an interview granted to Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Christian Weisner, spokesman of “We are Church”, a group of Catholic protesters, hailed the fact that the new president of the Bishops’ Conference had, from the very beginning of his new charge, tackled “one of the most urgent problems in the Church.”
On the other hand, the “Catholic Priests’ Network”, of conservative leaning, has reproached the Archbishop of Freiburg in Brigsau with giving the impression that the theme of celibacy could be brought into discussion. They, for their part, think that it is not this obligation which jeopardizes priestly vocations, but rather the fact that the sacramental priesthood is being diluted by “democratic structures of organization.” (Sources: Der Spiegel/KNA/Apic)
