Priestly Celibacy

Some years ago (circa 1996) I had apologetical e-mail exchanges with several individuals. I really believe the Holy Spirit was guiding me in some of these exchanges. I've found some of these old messages, and wish to share some of the "better parts" (many of which I had since forgotten) with a broader community...

In a message to "Greg," I dealt with his objections to priestly celebicy. I took an approach that I've never seen published in any other apologetical material...
================================================
Greg -

Regarding your objection to priestly celibacy: you say . . .

The Church <<imposes such unnecessary, hurtful disciplines on people>>

and

<<The whole structure stinks . . . because RC doctrine says priestly celibacy is merely a “discipline” -- that they could just as easily remove this burden from men’s shoulders, but they won’t lift a finger to do so (other religious leaders had the same said of them, once.)>>

The part in parenthesis obviously refers to the passage in Matthew 23:4 (“They [the Pharisees] tie up heavy burdens and lay them on the people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them”). Surely you realize that the “burden” of the celibate clergy is imposed by the clergy themselves! The “unnecessary, hurtful disciplines” are being self-imposed by the very people who are subject to them (the Pope and bishops). This is 180 degrees out of phase with the criticism which Christ leveled at the Pharisees (who imposed burdens that they themselves were not subject to).

The vow of celibacy can hardly be taken in a “rash and foolish” manner as you imply. A candidate to the priesthood will have MANY opportunities to reflect - the process takes several years and is punctuated with many opportunities to contemplate the commitment and “bail out”.

Next point: I work as an engineer. When my company seeks to fill an engineering vacancy, it has certain criteria and objectives (a degree in engineering, actual experience, good references, and preferably a professional engineer’s license). These criteria are set because my company feels that the overall quality of engineers who meet these criteria will be rather high (and their theories have been verified). My company is rather particular because it recognizes an obligation to provide products to its customers which reflect outstanding engineering effort, and writes its job descriptions accordingly.

The Church has a much higher obligation to provide quality services (priests) for its customers (the “flock”). The calling to the priesthood is the highest calling that a person can ever accept (the calling is higher even than Bishop or Pope, though the office is subordinate). If celibacy is “a noble calling, according to Paul and Jesus,” as you concede, then shouldn’t the Church insist on this “noble calling” as a “job qualification” for those who seek to accept the highest calling on earth? If my company lowered its engineering standards, we might get lucky and continue to hire good people who would otherwise not qualify, but I strongly suspect that the overall quality of hires would decrease. No one ever improved quality by reducing the standards. If the standards for priests are high, it is because their office and responsibility is high, and the Church is obligated to write the "job description" accordingly.