men chosen for the offices of priest and bishop, but as the numbers of
single, eligible men increased, more of them were ordained. Though widely
practised since the beginning of the Church, celibacy was introduced as a
mandatory rule in the Western Church only during the eleventh century, as
part of the reforms of Pope St. Gregory VII. The Church has the right to
make (or unmake) such positive ecclesiastical laws on the basis of the
power of the keys given to St. Peter: “I will give you the keys of the
kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (St.
Matt. 16:19). Unknown to many, the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church
have never changed their discipline and even to this day allow married men
to become priests. However, once ordained, an Eastern Rite priest cannot
marry, and only celibates can be chosen as bishops.
It was Our Lord Himself who first called some of His followers to celibacy:
“Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given.
For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs
who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have
made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let
anyone accept this who can” (St. Matt. 19:11-12).
“And he said to them, Truly, I say to you, there is no man who has left
house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the
kingdom of God, who will not receive manifold more in this time, and in the
age to come eternal life” (St. Luke 18:29).
Our Lord clearly praises celibacy and promises to reward it abundantly
when undertaken for His service and glory. The injunction to “be fruitful
and multiply” in Genesis 1:28 is only a general counsel for the human race;
it is not obligatory for each individual, or Christ would have been
counseling and allowing people to live in a state of disobedience, including
St. John the Baptist and all the Apostles except St. Peter.
The teaching of the Apostle of the Gentiles, St. Paul, is the same as Our
Lord’s. He, like Christ, led a life of celibacy and recommended it to others:
“I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own special gift from
God, one of one kind and one of another. To the unmarried and the widows
I say that it is well for them to remain unmarried as I am. But if they are
not practising self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than
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