Virginity or celibacy for the sake of the kingdom signifies and anticipates heavenly communion. The Catholic Church teaches definitively that it is better and more blessed to remain in the state of Christian virginity or celibacy than it is to be joined in sacramental marriage.
Moreover, Pope John Paul II taught that: "Virginity or celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom of God not only does not contradict the dignity of marriage but presupposes it and confirms it. Marriage and virginity or celibacy are two ways of expressing and living the one mystery of the covenant of God with his people." (Familiaris consortio, 16, AAS 74, 1982, 98).
Vatican II, in its Decree on Priestly Training (Optatam Totius), No. 10 teaches that: "Students who follow the venerable tradition of celibacy according to the holy and fixed laws of their own rite are to be educated to this state with great care. For renouncing thereby the companionship of marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven (cf. Mt 19:12), they embrace the Lord with an undivided love altogether befitting the New Covenant, bear witness to the resurrection of the world to come (cf. Lk 20:36), and obtain a most suitable aid for the continual exercise of that perfect charity whereby they can become all things to all men in their priestly ministry."
For Rev. Dr. Jerry Maneker, however, "..when any institution requires celibacy as a condition of fulfilling a calling, such as being a Roman Catholic priest, that institution is being unbiblical..and is setting itself up for the recruitment of very frustrated, sexually and emotionally immature officials."
What Dr. Maneker does not mention is that while Christ does approve of marriage for the Christian clergy, He prefers that they do not marry. Christ made this abundantly clear when He praised His Apostles for giving up "all" to follow Him: "And every one that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold and shall possess life everlasting." (Mt 19: 27-29).
Furthermore, the Holy Spirit explains to us through St. Paul why the state of virginity or celibacy is preferable to the married state for the Christian clergy: "He that is without a wife, is solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please God. But he that is with a wife, is solicitous for the things of the world, how he may please his wife: and he is divided." (1 Cor 7: 32-33).
In an article entitled "RC Priest Sexual Abuse" and published here: http://www.christianlgbtrights.org/2007/03/rc-priest-sexual-abuse.html, Dr. Maneker writes, "In my opinion, celibacy in and of itself is not the cause of the tremendous Roman Catholic priest abuse scandal, if that celibacy is a gift from God! However, when that celibacy is not a gift given to a person, and that person is forced to suppress a most primal urge, and that person is malleable and weak enough to acquiesce to that demand, that person is more likely than not going to be an emotional and sexual wreck.."
First of all, from a statistical standpoint, children are far safer with celibates than they are with married men. Apparently Dr. Maneker hasn't been watching any of the "To Catch a Predator" programs in which the majority of sexual predators are married men from various walks of life, including the field of education. As Raymond Arroyo has said, a "study by Penn State Professor Philip Jenkins reveals that a mere 0.3 percent of priests are pedophiles. Married men abuse children in far greater numbers. Anywhere from 3 to 8 percent, if you believe the studies."
In no way is celibacy an issue. Rather, homosexuality is. As one article makes clear:
An explosion of homosexuality is occurring in our midst. Flaunted by the mass media and promoted throughout our society, it has suddenly become a high profile issue. Yet this “coming out” is no surprise to those who have diligently worked for years to advance the cause of homosexuality, and this is especially true for the proponents of homosexuality that we find entrenched in the Catholic Church today.
The sex abuse scandal that broke out in 2002 was a loud signal that things have gone far astray. Although only 2.7 percent of the total number of priests nationwide were involved in sexual abuse cases (note that the number of homosexuals in the general population is estimated to be about 2 percent), the John Jay Study found 81 percent of the abuse cases to be homosexual in nature.
Yet the USCCB and the gay community insist that the problem is one of pedophilia and not homosexuality. Since pedophilia is defined as sexual contact with children who are prepubescent, and the vast majority of victims were post-pubescent males between the ages of 11 and 18, it is clear that the bulk of the crisis is directly linked to the practice of homosexuality.." (Source: http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=3942 ).
Abandoning the holy is not the answer. Careful psychological screening is. Men who possess a homosexual orientation do not belong in seminaries. The homosexual inclination is objectively disordered and ordaining men with such an inclination is, pastorally speaking, extremely imprudent.
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