Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The violent attack on Catholic celibacy which had marked the dominant culture in the West for some years has 'landed' in Italy. Newspapers, television talks shows and various features, are running wild with investigations, comments, impressions and opinions, often from the most disparate personalities on the sensitive issue of celibacy.
The phenomenon is aided, in no little way, by “uncommentable examples” of infidelity to the discipline of celibacy who, as Saint Paul would say, “boast of things of which they should be ashamed”, and they do so in public, dragging behind them people in good faith who, too often, do not have means sufficient to understand the complexity of the question and are influenced by the humanity of piteous cases and an uncontrollable instinct to reduce the whole reality to what “is natural”.
It is now clear that what we have here is a “media strategy” which, together with continual attacks on the forms of economic assistance for the Catholic Church in Italy, intends (and unsuccessfully) to demolish the public image of the Church, thinking in this way to de-legitimate its teaching.
Omitting the fact that he who writes is profoundly convinced that the Truth walks on its own two feet and finds its way to the heart, despite everything and everyone, it is necessary nevertheless to consider certain aspects of the phenomenon.
Firstly, we have here an attempt to “normalise” Catholicism, to render it homogeneous to the prevailing culture, we could say, using clear theological categories, an attempt to “Protestantise Catholicism ”.
An attempt, actually already made by many and which, by the grace of God, always failed miserably. The originality of Catholicism, is its non reducibility to a mere social or mundane category, it belongs to the very mystery of the incarnation of the Word, Who, taking human flesh, delivered the flesh assumed by Him from “normality” broadly speaking, making it the invincible (precisely) sign of God's presence in the world.
The non reducibility of Catholicism to the prevailing socio-cultural categories, has its truth in the claim of Jesus of Nazareth, Lord and Christ, to be God in the World.
This claim shines pre-eminently in those who, for Christ and for Christ alone, choose to offer their whole existence, including the affective and sexual dimension, to bear witness to Him, to His victory over the Evil one and over death.
The world, which after two thousand years, still conspires incessantly to keep silent about Christ and about the Truth of the Incarnation of the Word, cannot tolerate such effective and challenging witness. A world thick with uncontrolled instinct, diffused sensuality, at times with “ regressive animality” compared with the dignity of human nature, cannot bear to hear free and faithful men and women 'cry out' with their lives, having freely chosen and having been called by the Lord, that Christ is the only reason for living, in the present and in eternity.
The Catholic Church, in her sovereign wisdom and freedom, chooses for the ordained ministry only these men. Only those who have received from the Lord the extraordinary charisma of celibacy and who, because of this, are able to bear witness to it supremely. However many the attacks, particularly vehement recently, they can ever change the truth of things. And anyway the Lord warned his disciples and his Church: “not everyone can understand, but only a few”. (Agenzia Fides 11/10/2007; righe 41, parole 530)
