An Historical Sketch of Sacerdotal Celibacy in the Christian ChurchLea, Henry Charles
History
An Historical Sketch of Sacerdotal Celibacy in the Christian Church
Lea, Henry Charles
Catholic Church -- Clergy; Celibacy -- Catholic Church; Church history
Under such auspices, no very zealous maintenance of ecclesiastical
discipline was to be expected. If Clement’s sensibilities were humored
by a nominal reprobation of sacerdotal marriage, he could scarcely
ask for more or insist that Henry should rekindle the embers of
disaffection by enforcing the odious rules which had proved so powerful
a cause of trouble to their authors and his enemies. Accordingly,
it cannot surprise us to observe that Urban II., in following out
the views of his predecessors, felt it necessary to adopt measures
even more violent than those which in Gregory’s hands had caused so
much excitement and confusion, but whose inefficiency was confessed
by the very effort to supplement them. In 1089, the year after his
consecration, Urban published at the council of Amalfi a decree by
which, as usual, married ecclesiastics were sentenced to deposition,
and bishops who permitted such irregularities were suspended; but where
Gregory had been content with ejecting husbands and wives, and with
empowering secular rulers to enforce the edict on recalcitrants, Urban,
with a refinement of cruelty, reduced the unfortunate women to slavery,
and offered their servitude as a bribe to the nobles who should aid in
thus purifying the church.[569] If this infamous canon did not work
misery so wide-spread as the comparatively milder decretals of Gregory,
it was because the power of Urban was circumscribed by the schism,
while he was apparently himself ashamed or afraid to promulgate it in
regions where obedience was doubtful. When Pibo, Bishop of Toul, in the
same year, 1089, sent an envoy to ask his decision on various points
of discipline, including sacerdotal marriage (the necessity of such
inquiry showing the futility of previous efforts), Urban transmitted
the canons of Amalfi in response, but omitted this provision, which
well might startle the honest German mind.[570] Perhaps, on reflection,
Urban may himself have wished to disavow the atrocity, for in a
subsequent council, when again attacking the ineradicable sin, he
contented himself with simply forbidding all such marriages, and
ordering all persons who were bound by orders or vows to be separated
from their wives or concubines, and to be subjected to due penance.[571]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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