Catechism 1579

Celibacy is a discipline of the Latin Church, not a doctrine — and there are married Catholic priests today. It is a chosen sign of undivided commitment to Christ and the Church.

What the Church Teaches

In the Latin Church, priests are normally chosen from among men who live celibately and intend to remain so for the kingdom of heaven. Called to consecrate themselves with undivided heart to the Lord and to the affairs of the Lord, they give themselves entirely to God and to men (CCC 1579).

The Catechism then says something people rarely hear: in the Eastern Churches a different discipline has been in force for centuries — married men can be ordained deacons and priests, though bishops are chosen from among the celibate (CCC 1580). Both disciplines are Catholic. Neither is a doctrine that could not change.

Where This Comes From

Christ Himself was celibate, and spoke of those who make themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, adding that not everyone can receive this saying (Matthew 19:11–12). St. Paul, unmarried, wrote that the unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord while the married man is rightly anxious about his wife — and was careful to present this as a recommendation, not a command (1 Corinthians 7:32–35).

The discipline developed gradually and was made general law in the Latin Church in the twelfth century. Peter was married; the Gospels mention his mother-in-law.

Common Misunderstandings

• "It’s a doctrine." It is not. It is a discipline, and disciplines can be changed by the Church that made them.
• "There are no married Catholic priests." There are many. Eastern Catholic churches in full communion with Rome ordain married men, and in the Latin Church married former Anglican and Lutheran clergy have been ordained under provisions made for them.
• "Celibacy caused the abuse crisis." Abuse occurs at comparable rates in institutions with married leadership, and researchers have not established celibacy as its cause. That does not lessen what happened or the Church’s responsibility for it — it means the explanation is elsewhere, in the abuse of power and its concealment.
• "It’s a rejection of marriage." The Church holds marriage to be a sacrament and celibacy to be a sign of the kingdom. Elevating one does not require despising the other.

What It Means in Practice

It means a parish priest is available in a way a man with a family cannot be — at three in the morning, at a bedside, for a stranger. It also means loneliness is a real cost, borne by real men, and one that the people they serve tend not to notice. Priests need friends, and they need to be prayed for.

Pray With This

• Prayer for Priests
• Prayer for Vocations
• Prayer for Discernment
• Litany of St. Joseph, patron of the universal Church

In the Catechism

• 1579 — celibacy in the Latin Church
• 1580 — the Eastern discipline and married clergy
• 1618–1620 — virginity for the sake of the kingdom

Read the full text at vatican.va.