Why Can't Catholic Priests Marry?

The Short Answer

In the Latin (Western) Church, priests are normally chosen from men who commit themselves to celibacy “for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” (CCC 1579). This is a discipline, not a doctrine. The Eastern Catholic Churches have always ordained married men as priests, and some married former Anglican and Protestant clergy have been ordained Catholic priests. The Latin Church keeps celibacy because it follows the pattern of Christ, who was unmarried, frees the priest to give himself entirely to God and His people, and points to the life of the world to come.

Critics say compulsory celibacy is unnatural, that it drives away vocations, and that it has contributed to sexual abuse. These are serious claims, and they deserve an answer.

What the Church Does and Does Not Claim

The Church does not claim:

That celibacy is required by divine law. It is a Church law, which the Church could in principle change.
That marriage is less holy than celibacy. Both are callings from God. The Church celebrates marriage as a sacrament.
That all Catholic priests are unmarried. In the Eastern Catholic Churches, married men may be ordained priests, and there are married priests in the Latin Church received from other Christian communities.
That a priest, once ordained, may marry. In both East and West, a man may be married before ordination, but not marry after it. And bishops, East and West, are chosen only from among celibates (CCC 1580).

The Church does claim that priests who are “called to consecrate themselves with undivided heart to the Lord” give themselves “entirely to God and to men,” and that “celibacy is a sign of this new life to the service of which the Church’s minister is consecrated; accepted with a joyous heart celibacy radiantly proclaims the Reign of God” (CCC 1579).

Why Catholics Believe It

Christ’s own example and invitation

Jesus was unmarried, and He spoke of those who renounce marriage “for the sake of the kingdom of heaven,” adding, “He who is able to receive this, let him receive it” (Matthew 19:12). He promised that anyone who “has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God” would receive far more (Luke 18:29–30).

An undivided heart

St Paul, himself unmarried, explained the value of celibacy for ministry: “The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided” (1 Corinthians 7:32–34). He did not forbid marriage, but saw in celibacy a freedom for undivided service.

A sign of the world to come

Jesus said that in the resurrection people “neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven” (Matthew 22:30). A celibate priest’s life points beyond this world to that one, where God will be all in all.

A long history

Many of the apostles were married. Peter had a mother-in-law (Mark 1:30), and Paul speaks of “the other apostles and the brethren of the Lord and Cephas” being accompanied by wives (1 Corinthians 9:5). But from early times, clergy in the West were expected to live in continence, as the Council of Elvira in Spain required around the year 305. The Second Lateran Council (1139) made celibacy binding for priests in the Latin Church. The Eastern Churches kept a different discipline, which the Catholic Church fully respects.

Common Objections

”Celibacy is unnatural.”

The desire for marriage and family is natural and good. But human beings can freely give up a good thing for a greater one, as parents give up comfort for their children, or soldiers their safety for their country. Many people live without marriage, by choice or circumstance, and live full lives. Celibacy embraced for God is not a denial of love, but a different way of loving.

”Celibacy causes the shortage of priests.”

Vocations have fallen in many Western countries, but they have also fallen sharply in Protestant churches with married clergy. In parts of Africa and Asia, vocations to the celibate priesthood are growing. The causes of the shortage are complex, and include family size, secularisation and the culture’s view of lifelong commitment.

”Celibacy caused the abuse crisis.”

The great majority of abuse in society is committed by people who are not celibate, including married men and family members. Studies of abuse in the Church have pointed to failures in screening, formation, oversight and accountability, and to bishops who protected institutions instead of children. The Church must face those failures honestly. But celibacy itself does not make someone an abuser. (See How Do Catholics Respond to the Abuse Scandals?)

”Then why not let priests marry?”

The Church could change the discipline, and the question has been discussed, most recently at the 2019 Synod for the Amazon. The popes have chosen to keep it in the Latin Church, while respecting the Eastern tradition. Supporters of the discipline point to the freedom it gives priests, the witness it offers, and the gift it has been to the Church over many centuries.

In Summary

Priestly celibacy in the Latin Church is a discipline, not a doctrine, and the Eastern Catholic Churches ordain married men. The Latin Church keeps it because it follows Christ’s own example, frees the priest for undivided service, and points to the life of the world to come. It is not a judgement against marriage, which is a sacrament in its own right, and it is not the cause of the shortage of priests or of the abuse crisis. It is a gift freely given, for the sake of the Kingdom.

This article follows the method St Robert Bellarmine used in his Controversies*: state the question fairly, clear away misunderstandings, make the case, then answer each objection. Bellarmine’s treatise* De Clericis defends the celibacy of the clergy. See How We Answer Objections.

Sources

Scripture: Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition (Ignatius Press). Matthew 19:12, 22:30; Mark 1:30; Luke 18:29–30; 1 Corinthians 7:7, 7:32–35, 9:5.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn. 1579–1580. vatican.va
St Paul VI, Sacerdotalis Caelibatus (1967).
Council of Elvira (c. 305), canon 33; Second Lateran Council (1139).
Benedict XVI, Anglicanorum Coetibus (2009).
Pope Francis, Querida Amazonia (2020).
St Robert Bellarmine, De Controversiis: De Clericis.