A New Affection

We offer here an article by the Auxiliary Bishop of Rio de Janeiro on ecclesiastical celibacy, published in the Brazilian daily newspaper O Globo on May 4th

by Filippo Santoro

“Man’s life consists in the affection that primarily sustains him, in which he finds his greatest satisfaction” (St Thomas Aquinas). What we seek in life is the complete satisfaction of the desire of our hearts and of the questions posed by our reason. In everything, we seek full and true happiness. When an encounter occurs that offers us the evidence of a real and full answer, we, particularly during the years of our youth, give our life over to this encounter. The factor that motivates our life is called by St Augustine “dominant passion” and “winning delight” (Delectatio victrix). Celibacy, which is normally understood in the negative sense of “not marrying,” is tied to a dominant passion aroused by an exceptional and fascinating encounter. This is the experience the Apostles had when they met the person Jesus on the streets of Palestine, and which we can have today by encountering His announcement and His witnesses. The Church calls this experience of total gift to Christ, which entails the concrete form of not entering into marriage, “virginity.” This experience–the most radical and nonconformist imaginable–enters the world not because of ethical or social reasons, but as fascination with the person of Christ and the desire to follow Him fully, in His impassioned love for everyone. He called some so that they might testify to the world His own way of loving: a gratuitous, non-possessive love, and at the same time, a love full of passion for the true good of the other. This led Him to sacrifice and the Cross. Thus virginity is not an experience of frustration, of fear, or a renouncement of loving. On the contrary, it is relationship with persons and possession of things in accordance with the manner and sensibility of Christ. Virginity brings with it detachment and sacrifice, but at its root it is a new possession of things. It is the way of loving characteristic of Christ, which He offers gratuitously to those whom He calls.
The celibacy of priests is based on this experience of vocation and gift of oneself and is a profound choice of freedom, of response to the gift that Christ gives through His call.
The Church bestows the ministerial priesthood on people who freely choose to dedicate themselves to Christ and to the happiness of their brothers and sisters with their whole life. Thus, in the course of time, the Church has been oriented in the choice of “candidates” for the priesthood among those who have already freely decided to consecrate themselves wholly to Christ. Celibacy and ministry are profoundly united in the person of Christ. The relationship between priestly ministry and celibacy is therefore not simply an ecclesiastical rule, but a profound “suitability” of a substantial and theological order that, in turn, has given rise to the ecclesiastical “decision” as a true conquest achieved over time. Whoever asks to rethink this “decision” is simply taking a step backwards in time, paying an unacceptable “debt” to the exasperated sexual permissiveness of our secularized society.
In this context, the need is very clear for adequate training that educates affection and sexuality as essential elements of the person and prizes the capacity to give oneself totally and gratuitously. The countless examples of unbiased, heroic love in the service of the poor and the sick, and in the education of young people over the course of time are not tainted in the slightest by a very limited percentage of deplorable cases widely presented by today’s mass media.
In relation to the scandals of sexual abuse of minors by the clergy, the Pope’s clear position is a valid one, since a careful verification of the cases and respect for the right to defense of the people involved are always necessary. The most important thing is a position uniting the indispensable feeling of fatherhood on the part of pastors with a total clarity of judgment, without hiding the facts. In the field of pedophilia, it is proper to point out that the most objective research refutes any direct relationship with celibacy; the majority of cases occur with married people and within the home.
Finally, in the face of the “opinions” on priestly celibacy expressed by Cardinal Arns and Fr Angêlico Sándalo (who do not represent the voice of the Brazilian Episcopal Conference) and the orientation of John Paul II, I prefer, for substantial reasons, to stand by the successor of Peter.