The Development of the Argument for Celibacy in Selected Documents of the Magisterium of the Church with Special Regard to the Documents Issued after Vatican II

Abstract

The following article is one of the voices in the debate about the universality of priestly celibacy. It attempts to track the development of the theological and personalist arguments for celibacy contained in the most significant documents of the Magisterium of the Church. A special emphasis has been put on contemporary texts, issued after the Second Vatican Council. This choice has been caused by two major reasons. First, post-conciliar documents introduce a new quality to the argument of the universality of celibacy. Second, they have a far bigger impact on the discipline of the Church than previous texts.

Keywords

• Celibacy
• Synod of Elvira
• Council of Trent
• Paul VI
• John Paul II
• Benedict XVI