The Mother-in-Law of Simon

I must declare beforehand that I have not done enough research on the celibacy tradition in the Catholic Church. Therefore, what follows can only be a very brief sketch.

The Catholic clergy, from priests to the Roman Pontiff, are not allowed to marry. Catholics also trace the line of popes all the way back to Simon Peter, one of the 12 Apostles Jesus chose. Simon was the first Pope. Since Jesus renamed him Peter, which means Rock, and on this Rock, Jesus would build his Church (Matthew 16:18), no subsequent popes take the name of Peter any more. There have been 23 popes called John, 6 called Paul and 12 Pius etc. But no pope dares to choose the name Peter. Today, we read of Jesus' healing of the mother-in-law of Simon Peter (Mark 1:30-31). Naturally, people will wonder whether popes are supposed not to be married. If the first pope was married, why does the Catholic Church forbid the clergy to marry? Look at the other Christian churches. Priests of the Eastern Orthodox can marry, but not their bishops. Protestant pastors and bishops can marry. Why not Catholic clergy? Good question. It is a matter of traditions.

In Jesus' time, marriage was the norm. Therefore, it was only natural that most of the Apostles Jesus chose were married, with the exception of John perhaps. When Paul wrote to Titus about the qualifications of a bishop, he decreed that this person must be the husband of one wife (1 Titus 3:2). On the other hand, Paul also advocates celibacy (1 Corinthians 7:1, 7). When we move on to the early Church of the first few centuries, the clergy were married. But time and situation changed. There arose a group of people who would insist on leading their life according to the spirit of the gospel, the Evangelical Counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. They devoted themselves completely to pleasing the Lord (1 Corinthians 7:32-35). Gradually, there developed two classes of Christians: the ascetics who renounced the world and the laity who continued to live in the world with their spouses. Guess what, which class of Christians was thought more highly of? Of course,  those ascetics! Virginity and chastity were more highly prized. Married life was a necessary evil! From Pauline epistles, we gather that as the Church grew in size, a ministerial structure, a hierarchy developed. There were bishops (successors of apostles), prophets, priests (presbyters) and deacons. Soon, prophets and deacons had disappeared from the hierarchy for good reasons. Prophets were inspired and moved by the Holy Spirit. They were, like the Holy Spirit, unpredictable and did not fit well into a structure. Deacons relieved the apostles from worldly affairs so that they could concentrate more on preaching and teaching. Though there were saintly deacons like Stephen and Lawrence, many a deacons easily fell into the temptation of money and became notoriously corrupt. If bishops and priests were able to survive in the hierarchy, they needed to give up families of their own. However, without the buffer of deacons, bishops and priests would also be corrupted.

Gregory the Great was the first monk elected pope in 590 A.D. Perhaps this was the beginning of the tradition of celibacy among clergy. Celibate clergy are free from worldly affairs and completely devoted to the work of overseeing the spiritual welfare of the laity. They inspire and gain more confidence in the faithful. Thus, the tradition of celibacy is established in the Catholic Church. A colleague of mine, an ex-vice principal of La Salle complains about the scandals of Catholic priests nowadays and mistresses, concubines and illegitimate children of popes in the Middle Ages. Had they been allowed to marry, there would not have been so many scandals. I answered him that such scandals happen wherever there is a power relationship: boy scouts, girl guides, hospitals, schools and tuition centres etc. Sexual abuses are not exclusively Catholic Church scandals. However, the Catholic Church is singled out because the news is more sensational. Moreover, the Catholic Church is rich and victims can claim more compensations. Many US dioceses have to declare bankruptcy because they cannot afford to pay out the damages. Lesser churches are not targeted not because there are no abuses but because there are no compensations.

Back to the Catholic Church, recent popes have no intention to relax the celibacy tradition because it is a matter of personal choice (Matthew 19:12). A man is free to choose from the Anglican, the Baptist and the Eastern Orthodox churches if he wants to serve the Lord in the capacity of a married man. If he wants to become a Catholic priest, he should know well his own capacity and the Catholic tradition of celibacy.
In particular, the late Pope John Paul II expounds a Theology of the Body in his series of audiences from 1979 to 1984. They were compiled into the book Man and Woman He created them. The Theology of Body deals with human sexuality and marriage from the perspective of the Scriptures. Sex is an integral part of a human person but not the totality of the person. Our body is the materialization of our person. It is a gift from God, not for us but for the others. We give ourselves, thus open ourselves to more life. Love is self-giving as well as self-mastery. Therefore, in marriage, we master ourselves and give ourselves exclusively to our spouses. In a celibate life, the self-giving and self-mastery are for all and not exclusively for a single person. With self-mastery, a person attains inner peace and purity of body and mind. Thus a celibate person is able to relate and respect others gracefully, bringing out the image of God in others. Together, we can truly be children of our Father in heaven.

The revival of permanent diaconate in the Catholic Church after Vatican II offers an option for married men to serve the Lord and the Church. Today, Deacon Karl Tsang spoke in his homily about the presence of God. A man married for more than 45 years, Deacon Tsang is more convincing in dealing with marriage issues than many priests. Today, he shared with us his experience during the two knee operations last April and July. Deacon Tsang has a collection of age related health problems: hyper-tension, heart disease and diabetics etc. Undergoing surgery is particularly risky because his wounds would heal very slowly. He felt confused and lost until a nurse in mask whispered in his ear that she was also a parishioner. She would stay in the operation theatre during the whole process. God had sent him a guardian angel. Deacon Tsang felt relieved and very soon, the anaesthetic took effect. Both operations were successful and he recovered quite quickly and satisfactorily. Thank God, today, Deacon Tsang was able to share with us God's presence because God is really present with us all the time. We only need to open ourselves to His presence. Many Catholics shy away from bearing witness for Christ. Deacon Tsang reassured the congregation that just like the nurse, their mere presence was enough reassurance of God's presence. There is no need to worry about what to speak because Christ will put his words in our mouth (Luke 21:13-15).

Dear Lord, may our words and actions not obscure Your salvation from our brethren. May Your love shine forth from Your unworthy servants. Amen.