From the period between 8th and 11th centuries, many Roman Catholic priests were married. The first Pope, St Peter, was also married. Some even passed down their parishes, church lands, and sacred duties to their biological sons. They were not only shepherds; they were feudal lords and those of wealth.
The priesthood in some regions became a hereditary estate. Church property was treated like a family treasure. Altars became family inheritance, and some priests were more concerned with managing land than shepherding souls. It was not always about holiness. Sometimes, it was about power, dynasty, and profit.
As time went on, corruption crept in with family came conflict of interest. With inheritance came simony, the sale of sacraments. When marriage was practiced, priesthood looked less like Christ and more like a medieval aristocracy. Priests became torn between family obligations and pastoral responsibilities. Some even neglected the flock in order to secure wealth for their descendants.
This pained the church and there were agitations. This led to springing up of reformers. The voices of agitation included those of St. Peter Damian, Pope Leo IX, and especially Pope Gregory VII (Hildebrand). They began what history calls the Gregorian Reform in the 11th century. Their goal was to purge simony, eliminate corruption and reclaim celibacy which the visible mark of a priest fully consecrated to Christ.
The reformation wasn’t about shaming marriage. It was about restoring the sacredness of the priesthood; even though celibacy was not new then.
In the early Church, even married priests practiced continence, abstaining from conjugal relations after ordination.
This is because the priest handled the body and blood of Christ, a mystery holier than the Holy of Holies. Just as Old Testament priests abstained before entering the sanctuary (Exodus 19:15), Christian priests were called to be completely set apart.
Already by the 2nd and 3rd centuries, bishops and theologians spoke of continence as expected, even among married clergy. The Council of Elvira (c. 305 AD) forbade ordained clergy from conjugal life. The Council of Carthage (390 AD) also reaffirmed that priests must live in perfect continence, even if married.
As the Church grew in size, influence, and structure, it became clearer that celibacy worked, both practically and spiritually. It freed priests to serve the flock wholeheartedly. It prevented Church lands from being passed down to heirs. It visibly imitated the celibate life of Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest.
In 1139, the Second Lateran Council made priestly celibacy the law in the Latin Rite. This wasn’t a new invention, it was the mature fruit of centuries of reflection, a discipline rooted in apostolic purity. It should be noted that Jesus, the High Priest, was celibate. He didn’t marry a woman; He gave himself to the Church, his bride.
The priest mirrors the same love of Jesus. He is married to the Church. He has no biological children, but becomes a spiritual father to millions of Christians all over the world.
In the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox traditions, married men can be ordained (but cannot marry after ordination). Such vocation requires bishops to be celibate, and honor virginity as a higher calling. So, celibacy is not a rejection of marriage, it’s a sacrifice for a higher good.
The priests are not permitted to marry because once they did, and it may threaten the holiness of the altar. It will endanger the mission of the Gospel. It will also blur the priesthood with power, property, and politics.
Today, the priest is free to go wherever God calls, untangled from inheritance and ambition. Celibacy is not the absence of love. It is the presence of a love so fierce, so consuming that it cannot be divided.
