ZENIT has published a translation of a long and detailed address by Mauro Cardinal Piacenza, the recently-appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, regarding the theological underpinnings of clerical celibacy and the teachings of the Popes from Pius XI to Benedict XVI on the matter. It is one of the strongest affirmations in recent years of the theological necessity for priests to be celibate.
Interestingly, the Cardinal speaks of the pronouncements of the Council of Elvira and the Second Council of Carthage regarding celibacy as "dogmatic pronouncements". He also specifically denounces the idea that celibacy is merely "ecclesiastical law", explaining that celibacy is "an intrinsic demand of the priesthood and of the configuration to Christ that the sacrament determines."
Interestingly, the Cardinal speaks of the pronouncements of the Council of Elvira and the Second Council of Carthage regarding celibacy as "dogmatic pronouncements". He also specifically denounces the idea that celibacy is merely "ecclesiastical law", explaining that celibacy is "an intrinsic demand of the priesthood and of the configuration to Christ that the sacrament determines."
