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Crisis of Celibacy? or Smoke and Mirrors?

A book crossed my desk today: Priests: A Calling in Crisis by Fr. Andrew Greeley. Fr. Greeley is a sociologist at the University of Chicago and writes frequently on many issues of concern to American. As with many of Fr. Greeley's books, I read the last chapter first to see if I want to spend the time reading the rest of the book. I have to say that his conclusion is both stunning and comforting.
According to Fr. Greeley:
"The vocation crisis is a matter of smoke and mirrors. It's not a question that question that priests are unhappy with celibacy.
"Most men who leave the priesthood do not leave because of celibacy. They must also dislike the work of the priest to the extent that they say they would not choose again to be a priest. Despite the happiness and maturity of most celibate priests, few of them are willing to speak out in its defense. Hence there is little resistance to the constant propaganda that celibates are inadequate human beings and that celibacy causes child abuse....If priests are unwilling to defend their collective reputation, then there is no reason to think that anyone else will.
"Those who are happy in the priesthood and those who understand and apparently embrace celibacy have been intimidated into silence by the anticelibacy crusade. They are afraid to say publicly that they find the priesthood better than they expected because they might hurt the feelings of their former colleagues and have their masculinity or humanity questioned by an articulate minority of resigned priests and by lay elite who perceive celibacy as an attack on the equal virtue of married sexuality."

Say what you will about Fr. Greeley's overall work: this particular diagnosis is right on the mark. Celibacy has long been recognized as a legitimate expression of an individual's sexuality in many, if not most cultures. To take this particular discipline and live it for the sake of the Kingdom of God is a great joy and a great privilege. As a thirty-four year old newly ordained priest (and religious for seven years) I, for one, am grateful for the this beautiful charism of celibacy.

When I announced to my family that I wanted to become a monk, one of my younger sisters lamented that I would never be a father. Later, she came back to me and said that, in fact, my decision would allow me to be a father to many people. And she was correct--I am now the Prior, the 'spiritual father' of the monastery.

What many forget is that celibacy is as much of an experience as is sexual activity. In other words, in our experience-oriented culture, those who recommend marriage for everyone are in fact less interested in diversity than those who celebrate the gift of both the married state and the celibate state.

Be not afraid!

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ!

The funeral of Pope John Paul II brought back the memory of the dramatic moment in the fall of 1978 when the crowd gathered in Saint Peter's Square, awaiting news of the new pope, elected to replace John Paul I. The Cardinal Deacon appeared on the balcony and proclaimed the ancient formula "Annuntiamus gaudium magnum! Habemus papam!" He then pronounced the name of Karol Cardinal Wojtyla of Krakow. There was a moment of stunned silence--who was this man? Nobody expected that this Polish archbishop would be the Holy Spirit's chosen instrument to lead the Church into the new millenium. And when he came onto the balcony, the new pope's first unforgettable words were: "Be not afraid!" This phrase has been the rallying cry of Pope John Paul II for the 27 years of his pontificate. He indeed was a man who was not afraid of the truth because he knew that Truth is above all a Person: Jesus Christ the Son of God.

This website will be a series of reflections for those who feel the mysterious call of Jesus Christ to follow Him in religious life; who feel the call, but are afraid to respond. There are many reasons why young people are afraid to live the radical demands of their faith in a secular age. We, the monks of the Monastery of the Holy Cross, greet More than anything this sums up the life of a man who in life as in death touched millions by the witness of the Truth of the Gospel. We invite you to 'consider your call' (I Cor 1:26) and respond whole heartedly.

Peace to you in Jesus Christ! Be assured of our prayers for you.
Fr. Peter Funk, OSB

white male seeking religious community

"Thirty-three year-old male, computer systems analyst, likes baseball, devout Catholic seeking a monastery that is orthodox but not dour, between 15 and 45 monks, in a warm climate, where I can be ordained. Must have great liturgy. Please call..."
If you pick up any free paper in a big city such as Chicago, you will find pages and pages of personals. I often wonder about these, inasmuch as I don’t know anyone personally who has actually met the man or woman of their dreams through these ads. Yet they are clearly immensely popular.
I suspect that part of their popularity is that they promise a kind of control: there is a kind of pre-relationship quality control built into the notion that personalities can be fitted together based on certain extrinsic qualities. Of course, we all know that when persons fall in love, all bets are off. Some of the happiest married couples I know would seem at first glance to be the least compatible!
It is also the case that no matter how well we dress ourselves up and no matter what our strong points, we all have failings that eventually come to the attention of the people with whom we live. At that point, we need their compassion and kindness and good faith. When a spouse or brother in community puts the milk back on the wrong shelf for the fourteenth time, we tend not to be so interested in whether or not they like baseball, even if that once seemed attractive!
The point is that God has given us the project of life so that we can grow in love, not so that we can arrange everyone else around our personal likes and dislikes. To be able to love, we must be able to make a gift of ourselves to others. A gift is always free. When we put conditions on our gift it ceases to be a gift: as Paul writes in Romans 4:4, "when someone works, his wages are not regarded not as a favor but as his due." We live in a hard-working society of persons who tend to look out for ‘getting their due’. But "it must not be so with you."
I have not actually ever received a message from a candidate that reads like the personal ad above, but often times the inquiries can be driven by the same idea. A relationship that begins this way, I fear, does not have much of a future. Let us examine ourselves to see if we are really ready to trust God’s promises enough to make a gift of ourselves. Let us also encourage the young persons we know to consider whether God is calling them to make this gift.