Salzburg Archbishop Franz Lackner does not believe in quick decisions about the possible abolition of compulsory celibacy for priests. Most recently, Pope Francis drew attention with his statements in various media outlets, fueling the old debate. Lackner does not want his position to be taken as a criticism of the pope.
The chief shepherd of Salzburg refers in a statement to the long tradition of celibacy and to the fact that the call to celibacy came from Jesus himself. But: “Celibacy is in fact a ecclesiastical ordinance and not a dogma and could therefore also be changed.” Lackner noted that in the Eastern Catholic Churches, for example, abstinence was not required of all priests, but only of monks and bishops.
“too shortsighted”
“To immediately draw the conclusion that celibacy in the West must be changed because of the shortage of priests is too short sighted. Of course, such a change is relatively easy to achieve, but if it had been brought about here purely for modernization reasons, I doubt it would really serve the church and the priesthood,” Lackner dismissed that camp in the church that wants to combat the shortage of priests only with a reform of celibacy.
In his statement, Lackner refers to the apostle Paul, who is said to have said that he was “separated to preach the gospel”. In the discussion about the possible abolition of mandatory celibacy, he misses the treatment of the question: “What do I give in return?”
Lackner also notes that celibacy, as a purely canonical arrangement, is relatively easy to change. But: “Whether, when and especially how that should happen, are questions that, in my opinion, should not be answered too quickly.” In any case, it remains a great asset for the Catholic Church in the future.
“This is by no means a criticism of the Pope”
Lackner does not want this to be taken as a criticism of the pope, as his spokesman said of the “crown”. “This is by no means a criticism of the Pope. Francis himself has said that perhaps one of his successors will make celibacy changes, but he is not prepared to do it himself,” Archbishop media officer Michael Vereno explained. For the archbishop, the central question in the current discussion is what compensatory sacrifice one would make instead of being single in a change.
Source: Krone
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