1. In the Gospels, when Jesus called his first Apostles to make them "fishers of men" (Mt 4:19; Mk 1:17; cf. Lk 5:10), they "left everything and followed him" (Lk 5:11; cf. Mt 4:20, 22; Mk 1:18, 20). One day it was Peter himself who reminded us of this aspect of the apostolic vocation, saying to Jesus: "Behold, we have left everything and followed you" (Mt 19, 27; Mk 10, 28; cf. Lk 18, 28).Jesus then listed all the necessary detachments "for my sake," he said, "and for the sake of the gospel" (Mk 10, 29). It was not only a matter of giving up material goods, such as the "house" or the "fields", but also of parting with the dearest people: "brothers or sisters or father or mother or children", - so says Matthew and Mark - "wife or brothers or parents or children", - so says Luke (18, 29).
Let us observe here the diversity of vocations. Not from all his disciples did Jesus demand radical renunciation of family life, although from all of them he demanded the first place in his heart when he said: "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me" (Mt 10:37). The need for effective renunciation is proper to the apostolic life or the life of special consecration. Called by Jesus, "James of Zebedee and John his brother" did not only leave the boat in which they were "rearranging the nets", but also their father, with whom they were (Mt 4:22; cf. Mk 1:20).
These findings help us to understand the reason for the Church's legislation on priestly celibacy. In fact, the Church has considered and continues to consider it as part of the logic of priestly consecration and the consequent total belonging to Christ in view of the conscious implementation of His mandate of spiritual life and evangelisation.
2. In fact, in the Gospel according to Matthew, a little before the passage on separation from loved ones, which we have just quoted, Jesus expresses in strong Semitic language another renunciation required "for the sake of the kingdom of heaven", the renunciation, that is, of marriage. "There are," he says, "eunuchs who have made themselves such because of the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 19:12). That is, they are committed to celibacy in order to put themselves entirely at the service of the "Gospel of the Kingdom" (cf. Mt 4:23; 9:35; 24:34).
In his First Letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul affirms that he has resolutely taken this path and demonstrates the consistency of his decision by declaring: 'He who is unmarried worries about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. He who is married, on the other hand, worries about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and is divided!" (1 Cor 7:32-34). Certainly, it is not fitting that one who has been called to occupy himself, as a Priest, with the things of the Lord should "be divided". As the Council says, the commitment to celibacy, stemming from a tradition that is linked to Christ, is "particularly suited to the priestly life. For it is both a sign and a stimulus of pastoral charity, and a source of spiritual fruitfulness in the world' (Presbyterorum Ordinis, 16).
It is very true that in the Eastern Churches, many presbyters are legitimately married according to canon law concerning them. Even in those Churches, however, Bishops live in celibacy, and so do a certain number of Priests. The difference in discipline, linked to conditions of time and place assessed by the Church, is explained by the fact that perfect continence, as the Council says, "is not required by the very nature of the priesthood" (Ibid). It does not belong to the essence of the priesthood as an Order, and therefore is not imposed absolutely in all Churches. There are, however, no doubts about its appropriateness and indeed congruence with the requirements of Holy Orders. It is, as we have said, part of the logic of consecration.
3. The concrete ideal of this condition of consecrated life is Jesus, model for all, but especially for priests. He lived as a celibate, and was therefore able to devote all his strength to preaching the Kingdom of God and serving mankind, with a heart open to the whole of humanity, as the progenitor of a new spiritual generation. His choice was truly "for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven" (cf. Mt 19:12).
By his example, Jesus indicated a direction, which was followed. According to the Gospels, it seems that the Twelve, destined to be the first sharers in his priesthood, renounced family life in order to follow him. The Gospels never speak of wives or children with regard to the Twelve, although they do let us know that Peter, before being called by Jesus was a married man (cf. Mt 8:14; Mk 1:30; Lk 4:38).
4. Jesus did not promulgate a law, but proposed an ideal of celibacy, for the new priesthood he instituted. This ideal became more and more established in the Church. One can understand that in the first phase of the propagation and development of Christianity a large number of priests were married men, chosen and ordained along the lines of the Jewish tradition. We know that in the Epistles to Timothy (1 Tim 3:2-33) and Titus (Titus 1:6) it is required that, among the qualities of the men chosen as presbyters, there be that of being good fathers of families, married to one woman (i.e. faithful to their wives). It is a phase of the Church in the process of organising and, one might say, experimenting with what, as a discipline of states of life, best corresponds to the ideal and the 'counsels' proposed by the Lord. On the basis of experience and reflection, the discipline of celibacy gradually established itself until it became generalised in the Western Church by virtue of canonical legislation. It was not only the consequence of a juridical and disciplinary fact: it was the maturation of an ecclesial conscience on the appropriateness of priestly celibacy for reasons that were not only historical and practical, but also derived from the ever better discovered congruence between celibacy and the demands of the priesthood.
5. The Second Vatican Council sets out the reasons for such 'intimate suitability' of celibacy with the priesthood: "By virginity or celibacy observed for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven, presbyters consecrate themselves to Christ with a new and lofty title, adhere more readily to Him with an undivided love, devote themselves more freely in Him and for Him to the service of God and men, serve His Kingdom and His work of divine regeneration more effectively, and in this way are better disposed to receive a wider paternity in Christ." They 'thus evoke that mysterious marriage instituted by God, and which will be fully manifested in the future, for which the Church has Christ as her only Bridegroom ... they become a living sign of that future world, already present through faith and charity, in which the children of the resurrection are not united in marriage' (PO 16; cf. Pastores dabo vobis, 29; 50; CCC 1579).
These are reasons of noble spiritual elevation, which we can summarise in the following essentials: fuller adherence to Christ, loved and served with an undivided heart (cf. 1 Cor 7:32-33); broader availability to the service of the Kingdom of Christ and the fulfilment of one's duties in the Church; the more exclusive choice of a spiritual fruitfulness (cf. 1 Cor 4:15); the practice of a life similar to the definitive life in the beyond, and therefore more exemplary for the life hereafter. This is valid for all times, including our own, as the supreme reason and criterion for every judgement and choice in harmony with the invitation to 'leave everything', addressed by Jesus to the disciples and especially to the Apostles. This is why the 1971 Synod of Bishops confirmed: 'The law of priestly celibacy, in force in the Latin Church, must be fully preserved' (Ench. Vat., IV, 1219).
6. It is true that today the practice of celibacy finds obstacles, sometimes even serious ones, in the subjective and objective conditions in which priests find themselves. The Synod of Bishops considered them, but considered that even today's difficulties are surmountable, if "the appropriate conditions are promoted, namely: the increase of the interior life with the help of prayer, self-denial, ardent charity towards God and neighbour, and with the other aids of the spiritual life; human equilibrium through an orderly insertion into the structure of social relations; fraternal relations and contacts with other priests and with the bishop. by better implementing pastoral structures to this end, and also with the help of the community of the faithful" (Ibid., IV, 1216).
It is a sort of challenge that the Church launches against the mentality, tendencies, and maladies of the century, with an ever new will for consistency and fidelity to the evangelical ideal. For this reason, while admitting that the Supreme Pontiff can evaluate and decide what to do in certain cases, the Synod reaffirmed that in the Latin Church "the priestly ordination of married men is not permitted even in particular cases" (Ibid., IV, 1220). The Church believes that the consciousness of total consecration, which has matured over the centuries, still has reason to subsist and to be increasingly perfected.
The Church is also aware, and reminds presbyters and all the faithful with the Council, that 'the gift of celibacy, so befitting the priesthood of the New Law, is granted in great measure by the Father, on condition that all those who share in the Priesthood of Christ by the sacrament of Orders, indeed the whole Church, ask for it humbly and insistently' (PO 16).But perhaps, even before that, it is necessary to ask for the grace to understand priestly celibacy, which undoubtedly includes a certain mystery: that of the demand for boldness and trust in absolute attachment to the person and redemptive work of Christ, with a radicalism of renunciation that to human eyes can appear shocking. Jesus himself, in suggesting this, warns that not everyone can understand it (cf. Mt 19:10-12). Blessed are those who receive the grace to understand this, and remain faithful on this path!
[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 17 July 1993]
