"Voluntary" Celibacy

I read in the paper this morning that Pope Benedict reaffirmed priestly celibacy. He said, according to the paper, that celibacy would be a scandal only in "a world in which God is not there." The article said an Austrian bishop has urged the Vatican to drop the rule, in the wake of a widened European clerical sex scandal. The Austrian bishop said celibacy should be "voluntary."

A more precise word would be "optional." For the vow of celibacy is certainly voluntary. I don't have to become a priest, and I know the rule going in, so my vow of celibacy is voluntary. Likewise, if I get married, my vow of fidelity is voluntary. Once made, it is no longer "optional."

It is fashionable to hold the position that celibacy for priests should be optional. Maybe so. Celibacy has become controversial because a small number of non-celibate priests have preyed sexually on children. Some feel the celibacy rule attracts men with abnormal sexual drives, and turns away men who are sexually "normal."

Still, it seems to me that celibacy is a valuable "sign of contradiction" that is much needed in our sexually charged world. As the Pope stated, it is a sign that God asks us to transcend ourselves, and provides the grace to do so. . . if we ask for it. And, as Matt's earlier post points out, transcending ourselves allows us to be more present to others.