Have questions about priestly celibacy?
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- November
- 3
If you read this blog, you’re probably aware that the question of priestly celibacy in the Catholic Church remains a hotly debated one.
I’ve heard people offer vastly different accounts of the history of celibacy and its meaning for today.
Well, tomorrow (Wed. Nov. 4), Father Joseph T. Lienhard, a Jesuit and professor of theology at Fordham University—and adjunct professor of dogmatic theology at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie—will present a lecture at the seminary about “Celibacy in the Early Church.”
It’s at 7:30 p.m. and is open to the public.
The seminary is offering several lectures this year related to the “Year for Priests.”
Lienhard is the author, editor or translator of 12 books and author of more than 50 scholarly articles. Since 1997, he has been the managing editor of TRADITION, a journalism of ancient an medieval thought, history and religion published by Fordham.
He is currently translating two works by St. Augustine into English for the first time.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 12:44 pm by Gary Stern.
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The world of religion, we don't have to tell you, is vast. The purpose of this blog is for Stern to note, flag and comment on some of the more interesting religious developments on the scene – weighty and quirky, somber and laughable, far away and just down the road. He won't interpret Scripture, take sides in conflicts or judge anyone. But he will take advantage of the journalist's license to observe.
I remember the late Rev. Francis Canavan, S.J., a political science professor at Fordham University, writing when pollsters ask people their opinions about celibacy, they should ask, “Would you support married priests if that meant you had to give more in the collection plate each week to help the priest support his family?”
I remember when the sex abuse scandal in the Church exploded in 2002, a number of commentators such as Jimmy Breslin were blaming celibacy for the scandal.
Whatever one thinks of celibacy in the Church, is there any medical evidence that shows that celibacy, or abstaining from sex for lengthy periods of time (months, years, or decades), damages one’s emotional or mental health and leads that person to sexually abuse minors and children?