Priestly celibacy in the Latin Rite has come back into open discussion due to the Pan-Amazon synod. Some voices are asking whether the ordination of married men might be the answer to the sacramental shortage in the region, whereas other voices — including Pope Francis and Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the head of the Congregation for Bishops — have expressed skepticism that this is the answer.
Regardless, the time seems right to give some thought to the historical origins of priestly celibacy — the origins of which include the living testimony of the Dead Sea Scrolls, documents dating back possibly as early as the first century A.D. and unearthed in a series of archaeological finds beginning in 1946.
Read Full Article »