On the Soon-To-Be `Ideal´ of Priestly Celibacy

By The Radical Catholic,  April 22, 2016

The official internet portal of the Catholic Church in Germany, katholisch.de, published an article today which might well represent the opening salvo of the next battle in the war being waged against the remaining elements of Tradition in the Church: priestly celibacy. I present an English translation of the original article for your consideration below, without comment (emphasis mine):

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“Non-Celibates, too, should lead the celebration of the Eucharist” 

Bishop Emeritus Kräutler urges more intrepidity from priests and laymen

(Salzburg) – In the opinion of retired Amazonian Bishop Erwin Kräutler, celibacy should no longer be seen as a prerequisite for a priest to celebrate the Eucharist. A decoupling is needed, said the longtime bishop of Xingu, Brazil, in an interview appearing in the Salzburg Rupertusblatt. To decide in favor of a life without marriage is “certainly a special grace,” according to the native Austrian. The celebration of the Eucharist, however, must not depend upon whether “perchance a celibate priest” is present.

Admittedly, Pope Francis doesn’t want to decide this matter alone, said Kräutler. He recalled the audience of 2014, during which the Pope encouraged the bishops of the Amazon to propose courageous solutions to the problem of priestless parishes. In regard to the ordination of women, too, Kräutler opined: “Nothing is impossible!” After all, many decisions made at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) would have been considered heretical at the time of the First Vatican Council (1869-1870). [!]

Women’s Ordination “somewhat more difficult”

Nevertheless, the question of women’s ordination is “somewhat more difficult” than the decoupling of the Eucharist and celibacy, as Pope John Paul II, in his Apostlic Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis of May, 1994, “ostensibly once and for all firmly closed that door and sought to cement his opinion for all times,” said Kräutler. The Letter, however, touches no tenet of faith, and “doesn’t even possess the authority of an encyclical.”

Principally, the retired bishop wishes for more “boldness, audacity, intrepidity and simultaneously trust and passion” and less “paralyzing despondency” from laity, priests, bishops and religious.

On Wednesday (27 April) in Salzburg, Kräutler presents his new book with the title: “Be Brave! Change the World and the Church Now”.

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About the Editor

I am Catholic.

In times past, that simple declaration would have been enough to tell you, gentle reader, a great deal about me, your humble writer. It would have given you substantial insight, not merely into various externals of my life, such as my religious habits, the kind of company I prefer to keep, the places I tend to frequent, and my opinions regarding the proper governance of life, both private and public, but also into my very soul, revealing my most fervently held beliefs and my most cherished hopes. By uttering those three simple words, I would have made known to you my deepest love and my most precious treasure: my physical and spiritual incorporation into that perfect society which is none other than the Mystical Body of God the Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ (miserere nobis), known to the world as the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, outside of which there is no salvation. The times, however, have changed.

Today, the once decisive proclamation, “I am Catholic,” is frequently used to preface the introduction of any number of ideologies, spiritual or otherwise, the majority of which bear little resemblance to the Catholic Faith as it was taught by the Holy Apostles (orate pro nobis) and as it has been passed down, developed and defended by the infallible Magisterium of the Church over the course of her two-thousand-year history. Indeed, many are those who would lay claim to that most noble heritage while displaying nothing but contempt for the teachings of the Saints, Fathers and Doctors of the Church (orate pro nobis). As a result, a number of qualifiers have made their way into common usage to delineate one ‘kind’ of Catholic from another ‘kind’: “traditional,” “conservative,” “liberal,” “progressive,” “modernist,” “cafeteria,” “recovering”. Such a thing being a blight in the eyes of Our Lord (John 17:21), I am loath to add a qualifier of my own. Nonetheless, I feel compelled to do so.

If, then, I must qualify my Catholicism, let me be known as a Radical Catholic.

Deus, in adjutorium meum intende: Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina.ted by Radical Catholic

 

http://theradicalcatholic.blogspot.com/2016/04/on-soon-to-be-ideal-of-priestly-celibacy.html