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^ PRINCETON. N. J.
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which was presented by
Messrs. R. L. and A. Stuabt.
BV 4390 ".F413 1844
Demonstration of the
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.y
DEMONSTRATION
OF THK
NECESSITY OF ABOLISHING
A CONSTRAINED
CLERICAL CELIBACY;
EXHIBITING
THE EVILS OF THAT INSTITUTION,
THE REMEDY.
/
BY THE RIGHT REV. DIOGO ANTONIO PEIJO^
SENATOR AND EX-REGENT OF THE EMPIRE OF BRAZIL,
BISHOP ELECT OF MARIANNA, ETC., ETC.
TRANSLATED FROM THE PORTUGUESE,
WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND APPENDIX,
By Rev. D. P. KIDDER, A.M.
Debet unusquisque, non pro eo, quod semel ebiberat et tpnphnt
PHILADELPHIA :
SORIN AND BALL.
1844.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1844,
By SORIN & BALL,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States,
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
T. K. & P. G. COLLINS, PRINTERS, PHILA.
INTRdDtJCTION.
A HISTORY of Roman Catholicism in Brazil,
would embrace many topics of peculiar interest.
That form of Christianity was introduced contem-
poraneously with the first settlement of the coun-
try. Its propagation was one of the leading objects
avowed by Portugal in her efforts to conquer and
colonize that extensive portion of the world.
The devotion of the Portuguese colonists to the
interests of the faith in which they had been nur-
tured, probably more than patriotism or any other
principle, inspired their persevering and eventu-
ally successful resistance to the Huguenot French
and the heretical Dutch, who repeatedly invaded
the country.
Within the territories of Brazil, the Jesuits com-
menced the most splendid, and perhaps the most
commendable missionary enterprise known in their
history. Here, too, they first encountered that pow-
erful and determined opposition which finally se-
cured the downfall of their order.
Save the tribunal of the Inquisition, there is
scarcely any institution of the Romish Church
4 INTRODUCTION.
which has not there been established — established
too, it is boasted, with nearly all the purity exhibit-
ed in Italy, and even in Rome herself. These insti-
tutions, moreover, have long been in practical opera-
tion, free from the remotest opposing influence, and
have doubtless produced their legitimate effects.
In the revolution which separated the colony
from the mother country, and established Brazil as
an independent empire, Roman Catholicism was
retained as the religion of the state. Nevertheless,
Brazilians did not surrender the right to think and
act for themselves. Whenever, in their view, the
general good has required it, which has been very
often, they have closed the door to convents, and
appropriated monastic edifices to the public uses
of the country.
The Pope, on a certain occasion, refused to
consecrate one of their bishops. A proposal was
promptly made to separate themselves from the
See of Rome, and establish the Brazilian church
on an independent footing. After refusing for sev-
eral years to submit to any unjust or arbitrary claims
of his holiness, the question was only settled by
the resignation of the bishop referred to.
Soon after the organization of the present form
of government, a bold and philanthropic effort was
made in the General Assembly or Parliament of the
Empire, to abolish clerical celibacy, that distin-
INTRODUCTION. 5
guishing feature of Roman Church discipline, and
thus close up a prolific source of moral corruption.
The time, however, had not come for the success
of the measure, although it was supported by many
of the first men of the nation, and was loudly called
for by facts notorious to all. To embody the chief
particulars relating to this attempt at ecclesiastical
reform, is the design of the present publication.
One of the principal defenders of the project was
Feijo, the author of the accompanying demonstra-
tion ; himself a priest, then a member of the Cham-
ber of Deputies, subsequently Regent of the Em-
pire, and afterward a Senator for life. This trea-
tise produced a powerful impression on the public
mind, and together with other discussions of the
subject, convinced a large proportion of the more
intelligent Brazilians, both clergy and laity, of the
correctness of the views here advocated.
Such a circumstance is suflicient of itself to
invest this work with a peculiar interest. But it
possesses intrinsic merits which render it valuable,
independent of the particular occasion which called
it forth.
For such a work to have been lost to the world
and to future generations, would have been a great
calamity. Yet such had well nigh been its fate.
This translation is made from the only copy we
recollect to have seen during a residence of from
1*
6 INTRODUCTION.
two to three years in Brazil, and is believed to be
the first published in any language. Only a lim-
ited edition of the original Avork was ever issued.
This being in part suppressed by its enemies, in
part devoured by its friends, and between both
kept hidden from the world for sixteen years, it
can scarcely be regarded as less than a peculiar
providence by which the book should now make
its appearance in a form, and spread its pages so
v^^idely, that it can never again be concealed.
We are neither insejasible of the great privilege
we enjoy of paying a just tribute of respect to the
talents of the first Regent of Brazil, nor of the high
gratification which Brazilians must experience in
view of the admiration which this production of
their distinguished fellow-countryman is destined
to challenge from the learned of North America
and of Europe. But it is with still greater pleas-
ure that we contemplate the services which the
labors of that worthy man may yet render to the
cause of truth. His ^^Demonstration of the neces-
sity of abolishing a constrained clerical celibacy,^*
will be sought for by various classes of men, and
■will probably be found capable of administering to
each a word in season.
The Roman Catholic will here find a frank and
fearless discussion of an important branch of his
church polity substantiated at every step by vene-
INTRODUCTION. 7
rated names and acknowledged authorities. The
argument itself is accompanied by all the authority
due to a bishop nominated to the extensive diocese
of Marianna.
The Protestant will here discover an independ-
ence of thought, and a liberality of views, that he
was perhaps little prepared to expect from a Roman
Catholic bishop. The theologian is here furnished
wdth a sound argument, an extensive series of
references to ancient authors in point, and also to
facts, the validity of which, in this controversy, can
no longer be questioned ; and at the same time, with
a complete historical compendium of the subject in
discussion. The curious reader, moreover, will not
fail to be interested in the style of argumentation, in
the opinions advanced upon a variety of questions
in ecclesiastical history, and especially in some facts
respecting the widely extended Empire of Brazil,
that are incidentally interwoven and illustrated.
Especially at this crisis, when active inquiry is
aroused upon this and other kindred topics ; when
some are endeavoring to clothe the assumptions of
the present day in the ghostly traditions of the past,
and others are eager to rend the antiquated vail,
and reduce every assumption to its proper merits ;
it will be fitting for all to peruse the testimony of
one perfectly at home among the Fathers, and at
the same time qualified to speak from experience
8 INTRODUCTION.
upon the question he discusses. While some are
gravely contemplating the propriety of a return to
clerical celibacy, and its counterpart, auricular
confession ; it may be well for them and others to
pursue a candid inquiry into the origin and appli-
cations of the former institution in past ages.
Indeed it can not be amiss for any to listen to
the voice of lamentation spontaneously raised on
account of the wide-spread and almost irrepressible
evils arising from the immoralities of men at whose
hands we are told we must receive absolution, or
be excluded from the kingdom of heaven ; nor to
be admonished by the fate of those who have been
reduced to the extremity of sueing for the restora-
tion of those natural rights, of which a spiritual des-
potism has deprived them, and of pleading for the
intervention of the civil authority as the only hope
of securing ecclesiastical reform.
The translator has simply to add, that he has
endeavored to present to the English reader a
faithful version of Bishop Feijo's work j preferring,
in several instances, to preserve a formal and anti-
quated phrase, rather than take any liberties with
the literal signification.
New York, June, 1844.
DEDICATION
TO THE HONORABLE,
THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NATION.
Gentlemen : —
To whom rather than to you, friends of my coun-
try, protectors of public liberty, and zealous defend-
ers of the rights of Brazilian citizens, ought I to
dedicate this brief essay; the offspring of my re-
spect to justice, of my veneration to religion, and
of my love to humanity ?
Charged with defending us from oppression, it
belongs to you to set us free from the chains which
unenlightened ages have fastened upon us. Eleva-
ted above prejudices that have grown hoary under
the shade of a religion whose basis is sweetness
and charity, you have the courage necessary to
rebuke those rare, but conceited and miserably
contemptible geniuses, who rejoice and delight in
hearing the groans of imprudent or seduced vic-
tims, who, pursuing the phantom of an ephemeral
perfection, have plunged themselves into the abyss
of crime and of disgrace.
Armed with the authority delegated to you by
the Constitution, you have the power necessary to
combat those turbulent spirits, the enemies of all
10 DEDICATION.
reform, wlio, incapable of proposing a single meas-
ure for improvement, are nevertheless eternally
censuring others, who neither stand in need of
their impotent counsels, nor in fear of the devout
sarcasms of their pretended piety.
August and most worthy Representatives of the
Nation ; prudence is the only lamp which should
guide the steps of the Legislator. That conde-
scension, however, which has not for its basis this
offspring of enlightened experience, is a weak-
ness— is a crime.
All Brazil knows the necessity of abolishing a
law that never was, is not, and never will be ob-
served. All Brazil is witness of the evils which
the immorality of the transgressors of that law en-
tails upon society. Without probity, there is no
execution of law ; without the execution of law,
there is no justice ; without justice, there is no
civil liberty ; and without civil liberty, there is an
end to public happiness.
Legislators ; deign to accept the efforts of one
of your number ; reflect upon the important truths
which he offers to your contemplation, and be un-
willing to bear the mighty responsibility which
will rest upon you if you retard the revocation of
a law which is the source of public immorality.
DIOGO ANTONIO FEIJO\
Rio DE Janeiro, July 9, 1828.
PREFACE.
A DISCUSSION in the Chamber of Deputies
called forth from one of its members, well known
for his learning and his probity, the assertion,
" That the clergy of Brazil was dishonored by the
law constraining their celibacy P
Afterward, when reflecting upon the means of
reforming the clergy, and examining the annals
of Christendom, I myself became also convinced
that the most fruitful source of the various evils
which are entailed upon this important class of
citizens, was a forced celibacy. I consulted Cath-
olic authors, and authors not Catholic, philosophers
and canonists, and the solidity of the reasons of
those who censured the law, equally with the in-
sufficiency of the arguments adduced to sustain it,
confirmed me in my opinion.
I therefore judged it my duty as a man, as a
Christian, and as a Deputy, to offer to the House
my report on this subject, in which I undertook
to substantiate as fully as the necessary brevity
of such a report would permit, this proposition :
" That celibacy^ not being 'prescribed to priests by
the divine law, nor even by apostolic institution, and
being moreover cause of the imjnorality of the same^
12 PREFACE.
it belonged to the General Assembly to revoke the
law requiring it. That this resolution should be
communicated to the Pope, in order that he might
place the laws of the church in harmony with those
of the empire, by revoking such as impose penalties
on the priest who marries ; and in case he should not
do so within a specif ed time, that the bencplacito*
should be suspended to those laws which, fomenting
discord between members of a family, might disturb
the public tranquillity P
I foresaw the necessary shock which these
propositions would give to the minds of those who,
fallen asleep in the opinions inherited from their
ancestors, refuse farther investigation. Moreover,
all know the blind obstinacy of those who, at a
certain age, can not consent to be admonished of
their errors ; but, withal, the defenders of celibacy
appeared in much fewer numbers than I expected.
The pious detraction of which they made use m.
the absence of reason ; the confusion and the dis-^
order of their long harangues ; the uncharitable
manner which they employed in ostentation of
their zeal to defend religion, which they thought
was attacked ; whereas it was vindicated from the
false accusations of the incredulous, a proper dis-
* The Constitution of Brazil, Art, 102, Sec. 14, guaranties
to the government the right of conceding or denying its bcne-
placito (sanction) to the decrees of councils, the bulls of the
Pope, and all other ecclesiastical constitutions. — Trans,
PREFACE. 13
tinction being made between it and what is only
accidental to it; their defence of the honor of the
ecclesiastical state, which they pretended was im-
pugned by those who, on the contrary, endeavored
to raise it from the disesteem into which it has
fallen ; all co-operated toward the triumph of truth.
A few still remain, who, either through ignorance,
mistake, or prejudice, strive with their own con-
science. The innate sentiments of justice are, and
eternally will be, in contradiction to their opinions.
Let not such suppose this to be a rebellion of the
flesh against the spirit : it is the voice of nature,
which speaks against the prejudices of education :
it is the cry of conscience against perverted rea-
son : it is the contest of truth against error.
A wish to repay the interest which the Chamber
of Deputies took in the simple reading of that re-
port, and the kind reception which an impartial
public has given it, together with my own convic-
tion of the necessity of abolishing clerical celibacy,
has induced me to give a more full exposition of
the sentiments therein expressed. I shall, how-
ever, follow the same method as before, it being
in my view the most appropriate and convincing ;
since, if it can be shown that this subject is not
within the cognizance of civil jurisdiction, the
project is defeated at once, and vice versa. In
the former case, nothing remains for us but to
2
14 PREFACE.
suffer the oppression of the law in silence, until
Jesus Christ shall become mindful of his Church ;
because her visible head does not draw back from
a step once taken, and the See of Rome, although
it does not hesitate a moment in granting dispen-
sations to ecclesiastical law, yet it never suffers
those laws to be revoked. The latter is not for
its interest.
I shall not hesitate to repeat the same arguments,
and to cite the same authorities as before. The
former are solid : the latter convincing. I shall,
however, add new proofs. I do not wish to arro-
gate to myself the honor of originality. So much
has been written on this subject, and with so much
depth, that it will be sufficient for me to exercise
judgment in choice, and clearness in arrangement.
What, however, J shall surrender to no one, is the
honor of desiring most sincerely the happiness of
my country, the re-establishment of the honor and
dignity of the clergy, and the salvation of the many
SOULS who are inevitably lost through the ex-
istence of a law from which there is, as I shall
prove, not one good result.
I find myself obliged to come down to the level
of those who profess this false principle, " That
philosophers are libertines, and heretics never speak
the truths I shall confine myself, therefore, to
the citation of known authors, and those approved
PREFACE. 15
by my opponents, or at least respected by the or-
thodox. I shall establish myself on facts proved,
and on examples under the eyes of all.
I do not write for the truly learned, nor for those
well-intentioned men, who, possessed of love for
their neighbor, anxiously desire his happiness, and
condole with him in his misfortunes. These two
classes belong to my own party. I write for the
good of men who ordinarily surrender themselves
up to be led blindly by those in whom they sup-
pose exists a certain right to direct them. I will
make my remarks intelligible, in order that such
may not be deceived by specious arguments, whose
futility is found enveloped in the sacred mantle of
religion. My only concern is to be understood.
I have no fear of being confuted.
CONTENTS.
PAGE.
Introduction 3
Dedication 9
Preface . . , 11
PROPOSITION I.
The right to establish legal impediments to matrimony,
and to annul and revoke the same, belongs to the
temporal or state authority 19
Proof 1. From the nature of matrimony 19
" 2, From the use which temporal authority has
made of this rights 29
« 3. From the doctrine of the church in early
ages 32
Scholium.— From the 4th Canon of the 24th Session
of the Council of Trent 36
General Inferences 40
PROPOSITION II.
The impediment of clerical orders ought to he abolished 42
§ 1. That impediment is unjust 42
§ 2. It gives rise to immorality in the Clergy 49
§ 3. Immorality in the Clergy has a peculiar tendency
to promote public immorality ... 60
2*
18 CONTENTS.
PAGE.
§ 4. The law requiring Celibacy is useless 61
§ 5. Its abrogation is desired by prudent men 62
§ 6. Clerical Celibacy is not of divine institution... . 66
§ 7. It is not of apostolic institution 67
§ 8. History of clerical Celibacy 69
a. Reflections respecting Pafnucius, and the
legitimacy of the Council of Trullo 82
h. Continuation of the History of Celibacy
down to the present time 85
§ 9. Compendious view of the institution of clerical
Celibacy 93
§ 10. The Western Church was never opposed to the
Eastern in this respect 94
§ 11. General View of the arguments 95
§ 12. It is lawful to censure the discipline of the
Church 96
§ 13. The discipline of the Latin Church is impolitic 100
Conclusion 109
Appendix 113
CLERICAL CELIBACY
PROPOSITION I.
riie rigid to establish absolute impediments to Mat-
rimony, and to annul and revoke the same, belongs
to the temporal or State Authority.
The nature of matrimony itself, the example of
catholic sovereigns, the doctrine of the church in
the most enlightened ages of Christianity, and the
authority of respected authors, will furnish us with
arguments whose irresistible force will produce
the necessary conviction of the truth of our propo-
sition .
PROOF I.
FROM THE NATURE OF MATRIMONY.
Matrimony, in the opinion of all governments
and in the doctrine of the church, as taught in her
rituals and catechisms, is, in its origin, a lawful
contract between one man and one woman, which
God has authorized for the multiplication of the hu-
man race. From this simple and natural defini-
tion, it is inferred, 1 . That matrimony derives its
origin from the Author of Nature, who in Paradise
directed the first parents of the human race to be
20 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
fruitful and multiply^ and replenish the earth. 2,
That in the social state, whose object is to guar-
anty the rights of each, and to make those of the
individual subordinate to those of the whole, it be-
longs to the government to regulate this contract
in such a manner that the ends of its institution
may be realized. 3. That since this contract is
of such importance, that on it depends the perpe-
tuity of our species, the education of posterity, the
peace of families, and hence the tranquillity, secu-
rity, and prosperity of the state — the government
can not forego the right of regulating it, without
losing the very essence of its existence, which
consists in uniting the several functions necessary
to maintain the well-being of society.
Hence, therefore, the prerogative of establishing
impediments to matrimony, must be considered as
belonging to the indisputable and inalienable rights
of the government of a nation.
The absurdities which follow the negation of
such a right to a government, are evident ; while
it is still worse to yield it to a foreign authority,
and one which is independent of civil power.
Society would oftentimes be found in contradic-
tion with itself, and thus carried to the very verge
of anarchy. If this evil has not as yet been car-
ried to its highest pitch, the fact is due to the hu-
miliation of those governments which suffer their
subjects to ask exemption from law at the hands
of a foreign power, and to the indulgence with
which such favors are ordinarily granted.
Matrimony, then, from its very nature, is a con-
tract, having for its foundation natural rights,
which are subordinate to the interests of society,
NATURE OF MATRIMONY. 21
and therefore under the jurisdiction ol' civil au-
thority.
Some, however, urge that matrimony, being
among Christians a sacrament, is as such exclu-
sively subordinate to the church, and affirm that no
disposition of the secular authority can have any
effect upon its A^alidity. The falsity of this asser-
tion will be manifest, when it is proved that in
matrimony the contract and the sacrament are two
things, distinct in quality and separate in their na-
ture ; and that, although the contract were identi-
cal with the sacrament, yet, from this circumstance,
secular authority would by no means have lost ju-
risdiction over it.
Otherwise, it would be necessary to admit the
absurdity that when Christ instituted his church
and spiritual kingdom,* he nevertheless made de-
pendant on it the validity of a temporal contract ;
whose principal object is the mutual advantage,
the propagation of our species and education of
posterity ; and thus introduced confusion and dis-
order into society by depriving civil government
of an essential right, and revolutionizing the very
objects of that society which God has established,
and which he orders and protects as well as the
* It appears superfluous to cite authorities in proof of a
truth so well understood at the present time as that Christ's
kingdom is not of this world ; however, to avoid the censure
of some of our over righteous ones, I will refer to Fleury,
Eccl. Hist., Dis. vii. He says, " It is evident from the New
Testament, and from the tradition of the first ten centuries,
that the kingdom of Christ is purely spiritual ; that he came
on earth only to establish the true worship of God, accom-
panied by a pure morality, without interfering with the po-
litical government of diiferent nations, neither in their laws
nor customs which only have respect to the present life."
22 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
church herself. Revolutions these, which more
than once have ruined states, and brought into dis-
credit the authority of that church which has pro-
moted them by her criminal invasions upon the
dominion of temporal power.*
The early ages of the church exhibit the true
rule of her discipline. Fortunately, she then rec-
ognised no other right respecting matrimonial con-
tracts than that of watching over them, like other
human actions, in order to declare them iniquitous
before the bar of conscience, when contrary to the
Divine law. She recognised it as her duty to su-
perintend the execution of the laws of sovereigns
respecting marriages, and often had recourse to
those sovereigns in order to declare invalid such
marriages as she deemed opposed to the morality
of the gospel. t
The infidel who, after marriage, professed Chris-
tianity, was never obliged to renew his marriage
before the church.
Catechumens, who, during a series of years,
were preparing themselves for baptism, were nev-
* Notorious are the bloody conflicts which have occurred
between popes and kings relating to subjects within jurisdic-
tion of the latter. Without wandering from the subject be-
fore me, 1 might cite numberless examples of difficulty on
account of ecclesiastics intermeddling with a view to suspend
the validity of matrimony. The Emperor Leo was attacked
by the Patriarch of Constantinople, on account of his mar-
riage with Zoe. Every one is acquainted with the persecu-
tion which Adrian II. put forth against Loterus, king of
Lorena, and with the excesses of Gregory V. against Robert
the Pious, because he married his kinswoman Berta.
None of these things would have happened, if the church
had been content to keep in her own proper sphere.
t 112 Can. Afric. Cod. Tom. 2, Cone. S. Ambros aTheodos.
Greg. 2 a Luistpr.
NATURE OF MATRIMONY. 23
er prohibited from contracting marriage ; because
the doctrine was then current that matrimony re-
sulted from the mutual agreement of the parties,
ratified according to legal forms. The same was
repeated by Nicolas I. to the clergy of Belgium ;
by Eugene IV. in the council of Florence ; and
was subsequently consecrated in the catechism of
the council of Trent, which teaches, section 24,
that marriages under the law of the gospel exceed
those of former dispensations, in the grace which
perfects natural love, confirms the indissoluble unity
of husband and wife, and sanctifies the conjugal re-
lation.
Such, in fact, is the doctrine and practice of the
church toward Christians themselves, among whom
she frequently grants marriages merely in the light
of contracts.
Public penitents, separated from the church,
were not admitted to the reception of sacraments
during the first degrees of their penance ; neverthe-
less young men were permitted to marry, or at
least their marriages were tolerated by indulgence,
as St. Leo himself affirms.* Such marriages could
not be anything more than contracts, since matri-
mony is a sacrament of the living, as theologians
express themselves, and can not be administered
to penitents before their reconciliation.
Virgins and monks who married notwithstand-
ing their vows, while those vows were not regard-
ed as a legal impediment, were held to be truly
married ; but it is certain that such marriages
were not celebrated before the church, nor by her
♦ Epist. ad Rustic Narb.
24 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
ministers, who would have detested them ; and
therefore were merely contracts.*
Marriages between Christians and infidels, al-
though not declared null, or when granted by dis-
pensation, are nothing but contracts ; since all
know that an infidel is incapable of receiving a
sacrament, and therefore in this case it is admin-
istered to neither of the contractors.!
Among heretics, without the pale of the church,
who neither believe in the sacrament of matrimony
nor have ministers possessed of any right to ad-
minister it, how can marriages be considered as
sacraments 1 Nevertheless, Benedict XIV. de-
clared them valid, independent of being ratified in
presence of a curate, even when converted. J
Catholics who contract matrimony while a se-
cret legal impediment exists — being secretly dis-
pensed, notwithstanding the absence of the curate
— are truly married, according to the determina-
tion of the same Benedict XIV., in a case of this
instance, substantiating himself on the declaration
of Pius V.ll
Christians marrying by proxy were always held
as truly married, notwithstanding they never con-
firmed their nuptials in presence of a curate. No
one, however, will attempt to maintain that, being
absent, they can receive the sacrament by proxy,
since the union of the substance and the form ap-
plied by the minister to the subject, ckn not be re-
* St. Augus., Tom. 6, col. 375. Vide Pocicr Traite sur la
Matrimonie et Dupin Bibliotheque, sec. 5, par. 1.
t Tertullian, lib. 2, ad uxor. St. Augus. de Conjug. adult.,
lib. 1, cap. 25. Sinod. Elib., can. 15.
t Tom. 1. BuL, p. 87. Brief of March 13, 1741.
il Sistem Lubi de Teolog., Tr. Matrim.
NATURE OF MATRIMONY. 25
alized ; but it is, in the view of theologians, a cir-
cumstance essential to the validity of a sacra-
ment. To save myself the trouble of refuting the
frivolous reasons by which some endeavor to main-
tain the existence of the sacrament in such mar-
riages, I will avail myself of the authority of the
great Ca7io, who not only affirms that the church
never taught that all marriages among the faithful
are sacraments, but also pronounces the dulness
and folly of those who maintain the contrary to be
undeserving a reply.*
Second marriages are deprived of the nuptial
blessing in which all antiquity, and the Greek
church to the present day has made the sacrament
to consist. Third and fourth nuptials were so
much condemned, as to involve those who cele-
brated them in severe penance. At the same
time such marriages were considered valid, not-
withstanding the aversion which the church held
toward them ; and they are among us at present,
notwithstanding they are unaccompanied with the
nuptial blessing. t
Clandestine marriages anterior to the council
of Trent were held to be valid, although not cele-
brated by a priest. I
* Cano, lib. S, cap. 8. Palavicin in Hist., lib. 23, cap. 9.
t The Apost. Const., lib. 3, cap. 2, call second marriages un-
lawful • third, intemperance ; and all subsequent, fornication.
St. Greg. Nanz., 31 ; St. Basil, 4, &c. The council of Sal-
amanca, in 1336, persuaded itself, cap. 11, that the blessing
should not be granted even in second marriages, in order not
to repeat the sacrament.
t Cone. Trid., sec. 24. As early as A. D. 400, a Spanish
council in Toledo had determined, can. 19, that persons who
kept a single concubine, in place of a wife, should not be ex-
conamunicated. So little did they regard the sacrament es-
sential to the validity of the contract, when the laws did not
make it null. o
26 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
The celebrated Carranza, in his catechism, ap-
proved by a deputation of the council of Trent,
states that in some countries it was customary to
marry before a magistrate, previous to going to the
church to receive the sacrament. This practice
was doubtless founded on the doctrine of St. Am-
brose and other fathers, as well as upon the canon
law.* All these facts in the history of the church
prove conclusively the distinction between the
contract and the sacrament in matrimony, and also
that among Catholics themselves there have been
and still are many persons married merely in the
light of a contract, without the slightest impropri-
ety or shadow of sin.
In reply to these arguments, resort has been
made to the assertion that among Christians mar-
riages are, by the very act, exalted from contracts
to sacraments ; the contractors themselves becom-
ing ministers in the case, and that the priest is
therefore only the qualified witness required by
the canons, and the blessing no more than a cere-
mony of the church, without any sacramental ef-
fect. The absurdity of this opinion will now be
shown.
How can it be believed that in sacraments ne-
cessary to salvation, e. g., baptism and penance,
the subject, although a priest, can not even in the
most urgent case administer them to himself, and
yet matrimony, a sacrament in no way essential to
salvation, can be celebrated by the contractors
* St. Ambr. again, Ep. 19, a Vig., says that marriage ought
to be sanctified by the blessing of the priest — " Conjugium
sacerdotali benedictions sanctijicari opportet." Nevertheless he
maintains, Lib. de Inst. Virg., cap. 6, that the contract con-
stitutes matrimony — " Facit conjusium pactio conjugalisJ'
NATURE OF MATRIMONY. 27
themselves, who for the time being assume the
authority of ministers, thus excluding this sacra-
ment from the administration of the priesthood,
whose very office consists in imparting to the
faithful the grace of the Savior, as communicated
by means of the sacraments ? The very idea i-s
refuted by the practice of the church. It is con-
trary to the nature of the sacraments, as well as
condemned by the best authors.
Heretics who disbelieve in the sacrament of
matrimony, can not be capable of administering it.
Nevertheless, they contract matrimony in valid
form, and, as we have already observed, Benedict
XIV. does not permit their marriages to be re-
newed after their conversion.
A CathoHc may marry a heretic or an infidel,
being properly dispensed, and if the contractors
are to become ministers of the sacrament, why
may not the Catholic in this case administer it
alone ? The heretic and the infidel would neither
believe in it, nor wish to perform or receive such a
sacrament ; and though the heretic did desire to
do either, he would be unable, because he is ex-
communicated, and thus deprived of all rights as a
Christian.
Moreover, even the minister himself, without an
intention to administer the sacrament, does not ad-
minister it.* But, among us, neither party has any
such intention, because they are unacquainted with
any such office : on the contrary, both expect to
receive the sacrament of matrimony from the priest.
How, then, is it administered in the actual marriage
of Catholics ?
* Concil. Trid., sec. 7, can. 11.
28 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
Let us suppose, however, that the civil contract
is transformed into a sacrament, and that among
Christians the former is inseparable from the latter.
Now, since the contract is the basis on which the
sacrament rests, or rather, since the lawful contract
is the only thing made a sacrament, and that has a
priority of existence, it is beyond a question that
the civil authority still retains its jurisdiction over
the civil contract, and that contract loses none of
its subordination to civil power, although elevated
into a sacrament. Thus the citizen, by becoming
a Christian, does not alter his relations to civil au-
thority, although his individual character and per-
sonal dignity are by virtue of baptism elevated to
a higher category, and he has, under this new re-
lation, also come under the cognizance of spiritual
authority.
Thus the matrimonial contract remains in every
respect subject to the laws of society, although as
elevated to the rank of a sacrament, it is equally
subject to the laws of the church. Hence it fol-
lows that if two individuals contract matrimony
according to civil law, and not according to eccle-
siastical law, still they will be validly married,
although the sacrament be not received.
Both kinds of authority are independent. Each
one may legislate upon subjects within its own ju-
risdiction. But as spiritual authority has for its
immediate object the salvation of souls, and not the
public tranquillity, like the civil power, it can not
in the nature of things determine upon matters in-
dependent of that especial object. Still more, it
can not intermeddle in opposition to temporal au-
thority under any pretensions, without admitting
TEMPORAL AUTHORITY. 29
the absurd and anti-social maxim of the influence
of one power over another, with a reciprocal inva-
sion of each other's attributes. From such con-
flicting claims the most destructive consequences
have always ensued.
It has now been demonstrated that matrimony
is by its very nature entirely and exclusively sub-
ject to the civil authority, whether considered as
a contract distinct from the sacrament, or whether
in union with the sacrament placed in a new cate-
gory, which grace confers upon it the moment
that the union is realized. We shall proceed to
prove our proposition by the use which Catholic
sovereigns have made of this right of establishing
and revoking impediments to matrimony, not in
opposition to the church, but with her decided
approbation.
PROOF II.
FROM THE USE WHICH THE TEMPORAL AUTHORITY
HAS MADE OF THIS RIGHT.
The Roman emperors were converted. The
solid virtues of the pastors of the church, their
learning, their charity, and the miracles which
they performed, attracted toward them a high ven-
eration.
Exemptions, privileges, and largesses, conferred
upon them exaltation and grandeur. Even matters
of temporal interest were carried before their tri-
bunal, as the most just, impartial, and full of equity.
All this occurred, but the emperors neither yielded
to the church the right of regulating matrimony,
3*
30 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
nor did she claim any such right. Previous laws
were in all respects observed, and the church
merely watched over them, and became zealous
for their execution.
Justinian, the emperor who legislated so much
upon ecclesiastical affairs, in no one of his laws
makes mention of the sacred ritual when treating
of matrimony.* He annulled the marriages of per-
sons of rank, wdien not preceded by the stipulation
of a dowr)-'. To persons of a less elevated station
he granted the alternative of either stipulating a
dowry, or if they preferred, of going to a church,
and there, in presence of the Patron Saint and of
three or four priests, declaring that they received
each other mutually as husband and wife. Per-
sons in the lower classes of society he permitted
to marry without even this formality.!
A century before, Theodosius the Powerful de-
clared marriages valid between persons of equal
condition, when confirmed by their mutual consent
and proved by the testimony of their friends.
In the East, it was Leo the Philosopher who
at the beginning of the tenth century made the
nuptial blessing essential to the validity of matri-
mony.J He dispensed slaves from this, but Alexus
Comenus subjected them to it. In the West, it
was Charles the Great who made the nuptial bles-
sing necessary in many cases. ^ Tabarus says,
" If you consult the Codex Salicorn of the Goths,
* Lib. 4, Decret., lit. 19 and S, affirms that the sacrament of
matrimony (evidently in a latent sense), exists both among
the faithful and the unbelieving. — '^ Sacramentum conjugii apud
Jideles, et infideles existitJ'
t Lex. 23, par 7, Cod. de Nupt.
t Const. Emp. Leon, 89.
$ Cap. 408, lib. 6, p. 179, lib. 7.
TEMPORAL AUTHORITY. 31
Visigoths, &c., you will everywhere find that the
sovereign determined respecting matrimony, regu-
lating its forms and conditions, granting or denying
dispenses, and that the contract always appeared
distinct from the sacrament."*
Daguesus observes, that in the first nine centu-
ries, the church conformed herself to the laws of
the state, and never assumed to honor with the
sacrament a union condemned by the laws of
princes, t
Chatizel, after maintaining the same opinion,
adds, that up to the fourteenth century, history
offered traces of the custom in question. J
In France, as late as 1635, marriages of princes
of the royal blood, without the consent of the king,
were held to be null, and Louis XIII. did not hesi-
tate to declare invalid the marriage of his brother
Gastan. When theologians were consulted, and
the affair was referred to a national council, the
marriage was by all pronounced null.§
At the present day, marriages among minors are
invalid both in France and Austria, and in this
empire, proclamation is a necessary condition to
the validity of the marriage contract. Moreover,
* Tabaro do Contrato e do Sacramento do Matrimonio.
t Tom. 3, edit, quart., p. 69.
X Theodosius, iu establishing the impediment of consan-
guinity in the second degree, reserved to himself the right of
dispensing it. Heraclius granted himself a dispense to marry
his niece Martina. Theodoricus, in Italy, dispensed impedi-
ments to marriages both before and after they were contracted.
See Flodoard, Hist. Eccl., for the case of Bodheim, whose mar-
riage was declared null by an assembly, because it lacked the
consent of Charles the Bald. The case of John, Prince of Bo-
hemia, is notorious, whose marriage was annidled by the Em-
peror Louis IV., and who afterward granted Margaret a dis-
pensation to again marry her kinsman.
§ Memorias do C'lero da Franga.
32 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
a recent law has come into effect, by which simple
adultery, substantiated before a court, becomes a
ground of divorce.* It only remains to consider
the doctrine of the church on this point.
PROOF III.
FROM THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH IN EARLY
AGES.
Athenagoras in his apology addressed to Mar-
cus Aurelius and Commodus, asserts that "the
Christians only recognized as wives those females
who had been espoused according to their laws."t
Pope Celestine I., being consulted respecting
the second marriage of one who abandoned the
first because it had not been celebrated before the
church, decided in favor of the first, in order that
the faith of an oath be not trampled upon, and that
a reciprocal promise should he kept.\
St. Basil makes the validity of matrimony in
the case of slaves and minors, consist in the con-
sent of their masters and parents. §
St. Ambrose recognised the essential parts of
matrimony as consisting in the contract, and also
St. Johir Chrysostom. The latter, although he
confessed sovereigns might err in their laws, yet
declares, that they ought to be obeyed, both in cele-
* Lubi, Sistem. de Theol., trac. de matr.
t According to the correction of D. Prud. Marant. Ad calcem
oper. St. Justin.
X Decret. Grat., causa 35, quest 6, can. 2.
^ Epist. 2, ad Amphilech.
DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH. 33
hrating matrimony ajid in making a will, either of
which otherwise would be invalid and useless*
St. Augustine teaches that marriages with sec-
ond nephews or neices were lawful, because the
divine law did not prohibit them, nor had human
law as yet prohibited them.f The council of Or-
leans in A. D. 541, declared null those marriages
of slaves and of minors which had not received
the assent of the parents and masters.^
Theodore of Canterbury says in his collection of
canons, that among the Latins no marriages were
permitted within the fifth degree of affinity, as
appeared from the Roman questions.^
St. Theodoret the learned, when consulted re-
specting the validity of second marriages ; seeing
they were deprived of the sacerdotal blessing, in
which the Greeks affirm that matrimony consists ;
replied, unhesitatingly, that they tuere legitimate
marriages when contracted in conformity with the
laws.^
Nicolas I. replied to the bishops of Belgium
that according to the laws respecting matrimony, the
consent of the parties was sufficient, and that the
nuptial blessing might be omitted without sin**
Adrian II,, when consulted respecting a mar-
riage celebrated according to all the forms pre-
scribed in the civil law, but without the interven-
* St. Ambrose, Ep. 13, ad Sjt., says : " God can not approve
the marriages of the faithful with unbelievers, because the law-
prohibits them." See his Epist. ad Patern. Jo. Cr. Homil.,
15 ad pop. Antioch.
t De Civit Dei., lib. 15, cap. 16.
t Tom. 6, col. 385.
§ Tom. 1, Spicileg.
*iT Epist. 50, ad Naucrat.
*• Conci], Tom. S, art. 2, c^il. 517, art. 3, col. 518.
34 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
tion of a priest, decided that such a marriage, since
it exhibited nothing conflicting with canonical law,
could not he condemned*
Yvo de Chartres, the most able canonist of the
12th century, maintains in all his letters that mat-
rimony is neither valid nor invalid except by virtue
of the civil laws.^
Alexander III., when consulted touching the
validity of a marriage, ratified merely with the
ceremonies prescribed in civil law, decided that
it was of such complete validity that in case either
-party should marry another, even after carnal con-
nexion, the same would be obliged to return to the
frst marriage.\
Benedict X. being asked by the patriarch Gau-
dencius, whether there was any impediment to
matrimony between a young woman and a young
man who had been espoused to a deceased sister
of the former, answered that he could not con-
demn a marriage which neither the scriptures nor
the civil laws condemned. §
Pius VI., in the briefs addressed to the Bishop
of Lysia, and the Archbishop of Tarsus, declares
valid and lawful such marriages as had been con-
tracted during the revolution, on condition they had
been conformable to civil law.
Benedict XIV. had already decided to the same
effect respecting the Dutch. The Bishop of Lan-
gres in his pasoral instructions, 15th March,
* Beluz. Miscell., torn. 1.
t Epist. 167. It should be observed that the first general Lat-
eran Council founds its prohibition of the marriage of kinsfolk
both upon divme and secular law.
X Tom. 10, Concil., col. 1574.
6 Tom. 10. col. 1581.
DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH. 35
1791, declares that tlie nuptial blessing will con-
tinue to be administered to those who desire it,
although not considered essential to the validity of
the civil contract.*
Innumerable documents are offered us by the
history of the church, from which we learn that
the ground of prohibitions and legal impediments
to matrimony in early times was either the divine
law, or that of the civil government. It is true
that in some of the Fathers and councils, princi-
pally those of the 9th century and subsequent
periods, are occasionally found decisions relative
to the validity of matrimony. This circumstance
is owing in part to the duty imposed on the church
of examining their validity, Avith reference to
sanctifying them by the sacrament ; which in-
sensibly led her ministers to think themselves
authorized to legislate respecting said contract.
In addition to this was the consent and approba-
tion of sovereigns, who having resorted to the
nuptial blessing as the most efficacious means of
securing honesty in matrimonial engagements and
happiness to the married state, often yielded up to
the ministers of the church decisions respecting
matrimony, just as they had done subsequent to
Constantine, with many other questions of merely
temporal concern. Part, finally, was owing to the
ignorance of sovereigns themselves, who in the
* Reference should be made to the celebrated conference
between the Archbishop of Cambis and the Cardinal Antoneli,
which is found in the collection of Briefs. The Cardinal there
maintains that mutual consent is the essential part of matri-
mony, and consequently, that marriages among the French,
although unaccompanied by the forms required by the Council
of Trent, should be considered valid, unless their invalidity
were shown upon other principles.
36 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
dark ages delivered themselves wholly up to the
direction of priests, while those priests assumed
not only to legislate upon matrimony, but also
upon wills, upon the persons and property of ec-
clesiastics, upon churches, and even upon the
rights of citizens and the destiny of empires.*
But as nothing is easier than to quibble upon
vague quotations, we perceive that an attempt has
been made to refute all these considerations, by
means of a canon of the Council of Trent. We
now proceed to dispose of this objection which
appears insurmountable to those who have either
no desire or no ability to reason.
SCHOLIUM.
THE 4th canon of THE 24tH SESSION OF THE
COUNCIL OF TRENT DOES NOT BIAS THE PRES-
ENT QUESTION.
A fixed principle in sacred hermeneutics is,
that councils must he understood and interpreted
according to tJie object they had in view in the for-
mation of this or that canon.
Now, since it is undeniable that the Fathers
assembled in the Council of Trent proposed to
themselves no other object than that of combating
and anathematizing the errors of Luther and his
sectaries, it evidently follows that the canon under
consideration condemns no other opinion than that
which denied to the church the power of estab-
* Fleury 4 and 7, Disc, sur., Hist. Eccl. Beside this, con-
sult the diiFerent general and minor councils, e. g. the 4th Lat-
eral!, where will be found a specimen of legislation, civil eind
penal, upon matters purely temporal.
COUNCIL OF TRENT. 37
lishing any other impediments than those laid
doAvn in Leviticus, without pretending to decide
whether the contract of matrimony among Chris-
tians was distinct from the sacrament, or whether
the right of imposing legal impediments which the
church possessed, was delegated to her by the
temporal authority. The council decided truly.
For the church had the right of imposing true and
valid impediments, proceeding either from a pre-
carious and delegated authority, or from that
which was proper and essential.*
Nor was it possible that the council should de-
cide with other views — a council which proposed
to decide nothing dogmatically, unless as was
their duty, their decisions were based on scripture
and tradition, and unless by discussion they could
obtain a unanimity of votes. Now on this subject
no passage of scripture was found to favor the
opposite view, while, on the contrary, all tradition
formally condemned it. Besides, the most able
theologians were, and have continued to be, even
since the Council of Trent, of our own opinion.
These circumstances clearly prove that canon to
have contemplated no other object than that of
confirming Catholics against heretics in the doc-
trine that they ought to be subject to the impedi-
ments established by the church properly under-
stood ; until either she or the power which had
ceded to her the right in question or permitted to
her its exercise, should revoke them,
Melchior Cano, the bishop so distinguished at
the Council of Trent, and whose writings still en-
joy the respect and veneration of the orthodox,
* Palavicini, Hist. Cone. Trid.
4
38 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
maintains that among Catholics many marriages
have no characteristic of a sacrament.
Now it must be evident that such being merely
civil contracts can not be subject to the jurisdic-
tion of the church except by permission of the
temporal authority.
Giles Foscari, bishop of Modena, maintains
that temporal authority has lost none of its jurisdic-
tion over matrimony hy the circumstance of its be-
ing constituted a sacrament*
Catarinus, bishop of Conza, who rendered him-
self illustrious at the council referred to, asserts
that when Christ made matrimony a sacrament,
he in no way altered its natural or political rela-
tions ; and hence it will always remain the same,
and in the same manner subject to that authority
which presides over civil order. f
The celebrated Peter Soto, a theologian of
Pius IV., declared in the same council that it was
through the willingness and piety of princes that
the church had acquired the right of imposing im-
pediments to matrimony.! Jacob Naclantus,|| and
Domingos Soto,"^ were of the same sentiment, not-
withstanding they voted to establish the 4th canon
of the 24th section. Besides these, numberless
others have continued to defend our views, and
at the present day they are current in the greater
part of the universities of Europe.
From all this we conclude that the council of
Trent decided merely that Christians ought to be
* Palavicin Hist. Cone. Trid., Lib. 22.
t Trat. dos Matrimonios Cland., em 1552.
X Lib. 3. Inst. Christ. — de Sacr. Matr. — de Instr. sacer.
II Trat. 16, de irrit. eland, eonj. § In 4 cent. Dist. 40.
COUNCIL OF TRENT. 39
subject to those impediments established by the
church.
But if any thing else was meant, as far as the
present question is concerned, it was neither fol-
lowed nor adopted by many orthodox writers and
several entire kingdoms, did not consent to its
publication, but continued to establish and re-
voke impediments at their own pleasure, the
council to the contrary notwithstanding. Now
it is a maxim of St. Bernard, founded on the doc-
trine of the church, that " ivhe7i the orthodox are
in doiiht, there is no authority.'''' From this, it fol-
lows, at least, that our opinion is not heretical.*
Upon this subject it may be well to consult the
famous work of Lonoa. Regia in matrimonium
potestas ; the Elements of Christian Theology,
by Anthony of Genoa — the letter of M. Leplat to
Pope Pius VI., in 1782 ; the works of Pereira,
Rieger, Eibel ; the article Marriage et Empcche-
ment, &c. ; Dictionaire TheoL, de Bergier ; and,
above all, the work of Tabarus — Principles of
Distinction between the Contract and Sacrament of
Matrimony; Paris edition, 1825. The latter
work, especially, discusses this subject, with the
most profound skill and erudition, and gives ref-
erence to other celebrated writers, who may be
consulted with great propriety.!
* FidKS ambiguum non habet, quod si habet,fidis non est.
t Anthony, of Genoa, generally speaks with the greatest
reserve respecting all ultramontane maxims, which he doubt-
less abhorred ; nevertheless, on the present question he ex-
plains himself as follows : " There has been no little contro-
versy upon the question to whom belongs the right of estab-
lishing legal impediments to matrimony. But since matri-
mony is in the first place a civil contract, the regulation of it
without doubt belongs to the sovereign. As a sacrament,
40 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
GENERAL INFERENCES.
From the considerations already adduced, the
following reflections necessarily arise: —
1. Matrimony, as a contract, is entirely and
exclusively subordinate to civil authority.
2. Spiritual authority may require conditions,
without which the sacrament can not be adminis-
tered.
3. As it would be an outrage for a sovereign to
assume to regulate the sacrament and prescribe its
forms, under pretext that said sacrament falls un-
der a contract subject to his jurisdiction ; so is it
an equal outrage for the church to assume to reg-
ulate the contract of matrimony, under pretext
that it is merged in the sacrament.
4. To prescribe those rules by which matrimo-
ny may be validly contracted, with reference to
fulfilling the designs of Providence, falls within
the prerogative of sovereigns.
5. To examine whether the contract is lawfully
consummated according to laws human and divine,
in order to become worthy of sanctification by the
sacrament, and to prescribe forms for the adminis-
tration of the latter, belongs to the authority of
the church.
6. Notwithstanding the church has possessed
the power of establishing and dispensing impedi-
however, neither the most powerful sovereigns nor the (N. B.)
church herself has any right to interfere with its substance."
He concludes thus : " The impediments which appear to be
imposed by the church are none other than those of natural
or divine right, which consequently she does not determine,
but merely declares."
GENERAL INFERENCES. 41
ments, either through the consent, ignorance, or
permission of the temporal authority, yet this ju-
risdiction is precarious, and might at any moment
be taken away and restored where it belongs, by
a natural and essential right, and is consequently
inalienable.
7. The Council of Trent did not and could not
design to condemn this opinion, because it is the
only true one ; according to the nature of matri-
mony, the practice of the church in her most pros-
perous periods, and the example of Catholic mon-
archs, who have established, dispensed, and an-
nulled impediments, when and as they judged
proper.
42 CLERICAL CELIBACY
PROPOSITION SECOND.
THERE IS NECESSITY OF ABOLISHING THE
IMPEDIMENT OF CLERICAL ORDERS.
Being now assured that supreme jurisdiction on
this subject belongs to temporal authority, nothing
remains but to show the propriety or the necessity
of abolishing the impediment of orders, so that
priests may lawfully marry.
This necessity will be manifest from three
striking considerations. 1. The injustice of that
impediment. 2. The gTeat evils it occasions, in-
stead of producing any good. 3. Because, although
it were innocent, yet it is useless.
§1. THE IMPEDIMENT OF CLERICAL ORDERS IS
UNJUST.
No human law can be just unless it is based upon
natural right. Society, of whatever kind, has, and
can have, no other object than that of securing the
common good of its members. Whenever, then,
any law deprives man of a right bestowed on him
by the Author of nature, except in cases where
the privation of that right is indispensable to the
general welfare, it becomes manifestly unjust.
The right which man possesses of contracting
matrimony, is one essential to our species. It is
a right so sacred that its exercise, in many cases,
becomes a duty of the greatest importance to so-
IMPEDIMENT UNJUST. 43
ciety and to individuals. How then can any human
authority determine that a priest may not contract
matrimony ? To determine that he may not make
that contract until after a certain age, when nature
determines the periods between which it ought to
take place ; to determine that he may not without
the previous consent of those to vi^hom as a minor
he is responsible, and without certain formalities
requisite to secure the perpetuity of the contract,
or without certain compliances which make it
lawful, honorable, and suitable to the reception of
the sacrament ; all this may be prudently and
practically conceded as the prerogative of civil
jurisdiction.
Such impediments proceeding from human pow-
er, have no tendency to deprive man of his essen-
tial right in this case, but merely to prevent his
exercising it in an improper manner. The im-
pediment of orders alone tends to nullify this
right. If the contract is prohibited by other im-
pediments in this way, it is permitted in that. If
it is denied at one time it is granted at another.
In the case of orders, however, there is no time,
no place, no circumstance, which can permit the
enjoyment of that natural right. This simple
reason abundantly proves the injustice of such an
impediment.
It is objected, that since in the general neither
this man nor that is obliged to marry, the right
may with propriety be ceded. Under the plausi-
bility of this reasoning, an attempt is made to
hide the injustice of the law. The futility of that
attempt, I proceed to show.
No man can cede rights with which he is en-
44 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
dowed by the good pleasure of his Creator. Such
an act would be characterized by irreflection, and
hence would be rebellion against the general or-
der of that providence by which all things have
been arranged in view of certain determinate ends,
and to which every man is obliged to conform.
Besides, the propensity to matrimony being innate
and essential to the species, is liable to become a
passion, and in such case extremely difficult if not
impossible to control.
How then can any man without the height of
imprudence, and a wicked pride, yield up for ever
a right, the exercise of which often becomes a
duty, and the sacrifice of which may bring in its
train the violation of many other duties ? This
impropriety becomes the more notable in propor-
tion to the little or no good resulting from the sac-
rifice. To yield this right temporarily in the spirit
of penitence and self-denial, with a view to a
better discharge of duty, according to the explana-
tion of the Fathers ; or for life, with this reserve
— provided its cession shall be compatible with
personal happiness and the discharge of other du-
ties. Thus much is prudent and approved by re-
ligion. To this it is rejoined that since absolute
continence is possible to all, all who subject them-
selves to it are under perpetual obligations to re-
main in celibacy.
I have no wish to appeal to the constitution of
human nature, nor to the history of those gener-
ally useless efforts which have been made in this
species of sacrifice, but for the present simply to
consult the sentiments of Christian antiquity.
St. Ignatius in the 1st century said — if any
THE IMPEDIMENT UNJUST. 45
one is able to abide in celibacy, let him do it
with humility.*
St. Clement of Alexandria, in the 2d century,
called those happy on whom God had bestowed
the gift of chastity .f
St. Cyprian, in the 3d century, preferred that
even those virgins who had consecrated them-
selves to God, should marry in case they lacked
either the desire or the ability to persevere in
chastity. I
St. Epiphanus, of the same century, more than
once admits that many can not dispense with mar-
riage.!
St. Augustine and St. Jerome, of the 4th cen-
tury, affirm that virginity is a gift of God, not con-
ferred upon all.^
St. Gregory the great, in the 6th century, per-
mits members of the priesthood who can not per-
severe in continence, to marry. Tj
Numberless quotations might be added, which
are unnecessary, since St. Paul taught the Cor-
inthians that it were " better to marry than to
burn ;"** and Christ himself declared that conti-
nence was a divine gift, and that all were not ca-
pable of maintaining the resolution to practise it. ft
* Ep ad Polyc, n. 5. f Oper. Clem., str. 3.
J Cypr. de hab. virg., et ep. ad Pomp.
II Epiph. Haeres. 59. § Jeron adv., Jovin.
il Reply to the 2d question of St. August. Ap. — Siqui vero
sunt clerici extra sacros Ordines constittiti, qui se continerc non
possunt,sortiriuxores debent. It matters not that this permis-
sion is merely extended to the lower clergy ; it is sufficient
for my purpose that he admits that some are not obligated to
continue in celibacy.
** Ep ad Cor. 1., cap. 7. v. Pereira's note.
tt Math, cap 19, v. 11. The text embraces the opinions of
Tertulian, St. Ambrose, and others. Vide their commenta-
ries.
46 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
Doubtless for these reasons the church even
at the present time does not regard vows of chas-
tity, although perpetual, as an impediment w^hich
mars the validity of matrimony.
Yet, if anything whatever is capable of dis-
qualifying a person for this contract, it must be
the vow of chastity, which is, according to theo-
logians, a deliberate promise made by one capable
of that which is promised to God, who accepts it in
view of a greater good. In the person professing'
the vow there is no constraint, but simply the de-
sire of perfection. He has yielded up a right
which he might enjoy, or omit to enjoy, in view
of becoming better. It appears, then, that this
sacred pledge has taken away all liberty of ever
returning to the forfeited right. But for what
reason has the church ever recognised the valid-
ity of matrimony, when contracted by such per-
sons ?* I can discover no other than that which
St. Cyprian gave, that they be not co?ide?nned,j be-
cause God does not take advantage of the impru-
dence of men.
Such vows, after all, must be considered as
conditional with respect to their object, to which
* In speaking of vows of chastity, I make no distinction
between the simple and the solemn vow. All know that they
are essentially the same, and are, before God, of equal obli-
gation, and that the distinction was invented by Gracian, in
order to reconcile the doctrine of St. Augustine and the early
fathers with the 2d Lateran Council, which constituted the sol-
emn vow of the 2d in the monastic profession, an absolute
impediment to matrimony. This doctrine, however, was
not practised in the church, either with respect to the mo-
nastic profession or sacred orders, until after the decision of
Boniface VIII. Cap. uni. de vol. et vot. redemp. in 6.
I Melius est, ut nubaret, quam in ignem delictis suis ca-
dant. C3'pr. Ep. ad. Pomp.
THE IMPEDIMENT UNJUST. 47
there remains a salvo ; provided their fulfilment
becomes so difficult as to compromise their hap-
piness, because the church is certain that this is
the will of the Sovereign Benefactor.
Now, if such is the doctrine of the church
with respect to those who voluntarily make vows
of chastity to God, how can we believe that a
promise to continue in celibacy, made to men, is
so binding that it can in no case be broken by
marriage. Let us speak the truth. When an in-
dividual fails in a promise to God, which he
could, although with difficulty, perform, he is
guilty ; but his marriage is valid, because he was
not at liberty wholly and absolutely to forego that
right. His promise in such case was only a
genuine purpose.
If, then, he fails in his promise to men when,
without inconvenience, he could keep it, he, also,
is guilty ; but his marriage is still more valid,
because the violation of his promise is much less
iniquitous.*
* The Council of Trent, session 24, can. 9, in anathema-
tizing those who say that persons who believe they do not
possess the gift of chastity, although they have vowed to
maintain it, &c., and those who are prohibited by sacred or-
ders, &c., does not at aU embarrass our views ; because that
canon could never have had the design of prohibiting that
respectful censure which every subject may exercise toward
a law or regulation, when it appears grievous and unjust.
The council could not, therefore, have had any other de-
sign than that of condemning the anti-social doctrine of
those who affirm that the subject may with impunity violate
a law, when it appears to him unjust or impracticable. Good
order certainly requires respect for the law until it is revoked,
or at least until the opinion of its injustice, its inutility, or
impracticability, has become general. Thus many laws have
fallen into disuse, and their obligation has ceased. Eg.,
among others, the penitential canons, and those prescribing a
single kind of food in fasting, abstinence from blood and the
48 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
The church is so persuaded of this truth, that
when a Christian, bound by such vows, presents
himself before her, showing the inconveniences
of his promise, as the interpreter of the will of
God, she easily dispenses him from the restrain-
ing impediment, and among the thousand reserved
cases which the popes have made, they never in-
cluded that of this impediment. At least it is
certain that bishops dispense it without recourse
to them.*
How does this proceeding compare with the
practice introduced in the 12th century, of. ad-
judging the marriages of priests null, merely be-
cause they had subjected themselves to the laws
of the church by which marriage was probibited ?
Can any one persuade himself that an obligation
contracted toward the church is of more force
than one contracted toward God ?
Those who do not profess the maxims of des-
potism, who are convinced that no mere whim is
indulged in the government of the world, but that
the arrangements of providence manifest high
and holy designs, worthy of God himself, will
not hesitate to receive this truth. No one is ca-
pable of depriving man absolutely and arbitrarily
of the rights to contract matrimony.
It is said, however, that the church having the
right to require certain qualifications in her minis-
ters, may require celibacy as a necessary condi-
tion. Without yet deciding whether she can pru-
flesh of animals strangled, notwithstanding they were all
enacted in an apostolic council. We shall presently have oc-
casion to justify our conduct more fully in censuring the dis-
cipline of the church concerning celibacy.
• Vide Appendix, note A.
A SOURCE OF IMMORALITY. 49
dently require this of them, I will remark that she
ought not to deprive them of a right with which as
men they are endowed by Heaven, but when they
are unwilling to remain subject to her regulations,
to divest them of her ministry as the eastern church
does, and as the Roman church did till the 12th
century.
Let us return to our question. I shall no lon-
ger dispute xvith the church respecting the imped-
iment of orders ; because she has no control over
the contract of matrimony, by inherent right.
The civil authority can neither deprive a citizen
of the right to marry, nor consent that he be de-
prived of it ; its business is to regulate (and there-
fore to maintain) that right. Hence, to decree
that the priest may never marry, is absurd, is des-
potic, is unjust.
Because it is an injustice, because such an in-
terference is opposed to the necessities of human-
ity, because it imposes upon an entire class ex-
traordinary sacrifices, not required by the Al-
mighty, but only adAdsed to those who are capable
of them ; for these reasons such decrees have
always been infringed upon, and from their infrac-
tion, evils have resulted greater than the advanta-
ges of a compliance with them. This will now
be shown.
§2. THE IMPEDIMENT OF ORDERS IS A SOURCE
OF IMMORALITY IN THE PRIESTHOOD.
It is a never-failing maxim among those who
treat on the science of legislation, that no law
should he enacted when there is a probability of its
being constantly transgressed. Imprudent legisla-
5
50 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
tors, who have contemned this maxim, have gen-
erally suflered the chagrin of seeing all their ef-
forts rendered useless, and their subjects habitua-
ted to despise other laws better founded in justice.
When such a habit is once contracted immorality-
rises to its greatest height. Thenceforward there
is neither order nor justice, each one regarding
himself the arbiter of his own actions, and ready
to be governed either by caprice or passion. It is
true, subjects never perpetually despise or violate
a law which does not exist in contradiction to the
nature of things ; either in being opposed to pub-
lic sentiment, the offspring of habit and education,
or being impracticable as adapted to a few and
not to the many on whom it is imposed ; or, in
fine, until it has become insignificant from having
no power to promote public happiness. Let these
principles be applied to the law establishing the
impediment of clerical orders, and it will be easy
to discover, why, ever since its imposition, it has
failed to be observed.
In the early days of Christianity, when the fer-
vor and enthusiasm which novelty inspires had
taken possession of Christians ; when the exam-
ple of apostolic men and the prodigies which ac-
companied the establishment of religion, carried
persons to a high degree of perfection, it is not
wonderful that celibacy should be cultivated as a
penance, and that individuals of every age and
condition should devote themselves to its main-
tenance. But the fervor of that period by degrees
growing cold, ecclesiastics themselves began to
decline into the common relaxation. From the
beginning of the 4th century downward, several
A SOURCE OF IMMORALITY. 51
private councils pretended to confirm the law which
till then had been followed only by custom and
by choice of the individual ; that is, they required
positiv^e continence as a necessary condition to
sacred orders dismissing from the clerical relation
the priest who married. We will observe the re-
sult of this prohibition.
Alexander Natal observes, that notwithstanding
the repeated determination of popes and councils,
very few subjected themselves to celibacy, and
that the more the observance of the law was in-
sisted upon, the greater evils appeared.* In fact,
the least attention bestowed on ecclesiastical his-
tory can not fail to remark this truth.
Pope Siricius in the latter part of the 4th cen-
tury, complained bitterly of the abuse of the law,
and of there being priests M^ho were ignorant of
the prohibition; so completely inefficient it had
become.!
St. Jerome declared that there were bishops
who were no longer willing to ordain single men,
on account of his assured fear of their inconti-
nence.J
St. Epiphanius, of the same century, certifies
that in many places, the incontinence of the cler-
gy was countenanced in view of human weakness
and for the want of those not subject to it.||
St. Ambrose confesses that the priests married
in many places, and endeavor to justify their
course on the ground of ancient custom.*^
• Hist. Eccl., Dis. 4 cent. t Ep. ad Him.
X Advers. Vigil. || Haeres. 59.
§ Quod CO non praeterii, quia in pierisque abditioribus locis,
cum ministerium gererent, vel etiam Sacerdotium, filios sus-
ceperuut ; et id tanquam use vetero defendunt, &c.
52 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
Innocent I., in the beginning of the 5th cen-
tury, suffered married presbyters and deacons
who had been ignorant of the decretal of Siricius,
to be preserved in their orders. Thus we see to
what extent it was forgotten within twenty years
of its date.* ■»
Innumerable are the councils which endeavored
to renevv a law constantly falling into desuetude.
They did not spare ecclesiastical penalties, and
sometimes became so extravagant as to decree
temporal punishments, some of which were man-
ifestly and inexcusably unjust. Certain councils
even decreed against the priest who should marry,
the penalties of deposition, perpetual imprison-
ment, fasting upon bread and water during life,
and bloody stripes beside. f
Others prohibited females from marrying priests,
condemning such as were suspected of that inten-
tion to have their hair cut off in disgrace, to be
expatriated, and even to be sold and their price
given to the poor. J
Others excluded the sons of priests from ordin-
ation and ecclesiastical benefices ; declaring them
illegitimate ; incapable of holding property ; con-
fiscating their goods to the churches where their
fathers served ; condemning them to servitude,
and even excommunicating the judges who should
be disposed to set them free.|| To what greater
* EpisL ad Eux, up.
t Cone, de Toledo, can. 1., A. D. 597. Do. can. 4, .5, 6,
A. D. 653. Germanic, can. 43. Worms, can. 9.
X Cone, of Toledo, A. D. 653, can. 43. Augsburgh, can. 4.
London, 1127, can. 7, &c.
II Cone, de Toledo, 653, can. 10. Pavia, A. D. 1012, can. 3,
4. Burgo, 1031, can. 8. Pictav., 1078, can. 8. Clermont,
1095 can, 11, &c.
A SOURCE OF IMMORALITY. 53
excesses could criminal legislation possibly ar-
rive !
But what was tlie consequence ? The evil con-
tinued ; the scandal augmented, and all the reme-
dies became inefficacious. From the time that
persons who had vowed celibacy as an act of de-
votion were admitted to ecclesiastical orders, fre-
quent abuses occurred, which councils endeavored
in vain to remedy.
The council general of Nice, A. D. 325, was
the first to prohibit priests the society of suspect-
ed women. The evil arrived at such a pitch that
at length sisters, and even mothers, were forbid-
den to reside with them, on account of the females
who would be found in their company.*
Councils at last became wearied of their use-
less attempts to restrain the incontinence of priests
and of seeing their penalties frustrated, whether
decreed against priests themselves, their concu-
bines, or, in fine, their innocent children. They
then proceeded to prohibit the faithful from hear-
ing masses said by them, as though they had no
means of suspending or dismissing them. Wri-
ters give us a sad picture of the licentious life of
those priests, while so many and various laws con-
clusively prove not only the constant transgression
of the requirement, but also the insufficiency of
all the means applied to check it.f
The last general council discovering no other
* Concil de Turs., A. D., 566., can. 10 and 11. Maience,
A.D. 8S8, 10. Consult Richard's Analysis of Councils.— St.
Johan. Chrys., contr. hab. cler.
t Consult Nicolas de Clemangis. — Do Estado da corrupgao,
da Igreja, ^c. O Pranto da Igreja por Alvaro Pelagic. — S.
Pedro Danriiao—- contra os clerigos impudicos, &c.
54 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
remedy for the evil, contented itself in withhold-
ing from the beneficed clergy a third part of their
benefice on proof of the first offence ; the whole
after the second, while the third was only made
to incur suspension, not dismissal.
Surely if rigorous and even unjust and barba-
rous penalties had been unable to put down con-
cubinage, how, possibly, could such means ? In
fine, the same practice obtained anciently which
is current now. The ecclesiastic was no longer
punished unless some enemy chose to resuscitate
against him a law v/hich has suffered as many
ages of neglect as- it has enjoyed of existence.
Prompt and severe chastisements may render
the priest more cautious, and public opinion may
oppose a barrier to the scandal, but what is the
result ? Cases of scandal are less frequent, but
continence is not as a consequence more sure.
Under the shade of mystery, crimes become great-
er, although self-preservation ensures their con-
cealment.*
It should be observed that incontinence is by no
means a vice peculiar to ecclesiastics, but doubt-
less is provoked by unnatural restraint. In the
third and fourth centuries, during the rage of
anti-matrimonial principles, w^e behold a most
gloomy picture drawn by St. Jerome and Cyprian
even of virgins themselves.
* When we speak of abolishing clerical celibacy, many-
priests oppose it, perhaps, through a mistaken idea of self-
respect; or because they are apprehensive of a failure in the
eflort ; but let it once be reahzed and immense numbers
would avail themselves of the privilege. This was the case
in France, and also in England, when, in 1548, parliament
revoked the laws prohibiting the marriage of priests. Out of
16,000, 12,000 married within 6 years, while the reign of Ed-
ward V. continued. V. Floury and Hist, da Rev. Franceza.
A SOURCE OF IMMORALITY. 55
In view of it, the latter most worthy father, a light
of the church, even went so far as to practice what
at the present day would appear reprehensible to the
veriest idiot ; perhaps he was excusable in view
of the spirit of the age to which he yielded.*
Some trained up in the rigor of monastic life,
or imbued with ascetic notions, contemplated the
universal prevalence of celibacy! Dazzled by
the splendor of the virtues of certain individuals
who had vowed celibacy, little did they regard the
frequent calamities into which others were plunged
in the unequal struggle between the weakness of
human nature and the supremacy of an unnatural
law. How different was the conduct of Paul,
whom they could not condescend to imitate ! That
inspired apostle, writing to Timothy respecting a
case in point, concludes by saying : " I will,
therefore, that the younger women marry, bear
children, guide the house, give none occasion to
the adversary to speak reproachfully. For some
are already turned aside after Satan." Prudent in
his zeal, he did not insist that widows should
remain unmarried, and thus applied to the evil its
proper remedy. f
In view of what has been said, let the compar-
ison be made between the advantages arising from
obedience to the law and the evils resulting from
* Epist. ad. Pomp. Inspiciantur interim Virgines ab obstet-
ricibus diligenter — de habit. Virg, What is more notable is,
that such abuses existed in the second century, as may be
seen in Tertul. de vel. Virg. ad fin. where, among other things,
the following may be read : Facillime concipiunt et felicis-
sime pariimt hujusmodi Virgines : haec admittit coacta et
invita Virginitas. Vide S. Jeron. epist ad Eustoch. cap. 5.
V. 11-13.
t V. Pereira's Note.
56 CLERICAL CELIBACY
its transgression, and it will be easy to decide
whether it is best to follow St. Paul or those
fathers and councils who have so imprudently
insisted upon advising, promoting, and decreeing
celibacy.*
It is now proved, that from the moment clerical
celibacy was instituted, the law requiring it has
been violated ; and it has been violated because
legislators exacted more than the Divine Founder
of religion required. He was contented with
merely advising entire continence, and the apostle
very plainly remarked, that in exalting its merits
he wished to ensnare no one.f
Pafnucius, the octagenarian bishop who had
already lost an eye for the faith of Christ, and
whose life was spotless, in the first general council
opposed the projected law of celibacy, showing
that such an excess of rigor luould do the church
great injury, and also that all were not capable of
the restraint.^
Bergier commends the wisdom of this prelate,
and the wisdom of the council in listening to it ;
since to have determined on celibacy then, would
have been to approbate the sect of Eucratists, and
otiier heretics who condemned matrimony.^
Fleury, who is more impartial, and incompara-
tively more judicious, admires the wisdom of the
council in not establishing a law which would, in the
nature of things, be violated.^
* St. Clement, Strom. 3, recommends neither to depress
matrimony nor imprudently exalt celibacy,
t 1 Ep. ad Corinth, 7, 35.
X Socrates a Sozom, Hist. Eccl.
6 Art. Cehb. Diction. Theologique,
\\ Hist. Eccl. 4 cent.
A SOURCE OF IMMORALITY. 57
Alexander Natal maintains that the Council of
Thebes, very far from favoring laxity of morals , on
the contrary, by applying the remedy to inconti-
nence, promoted the honor and the welfare of the
church.* It is needless to cite more authorities to
prove what the experience of the church for
fifteen centuries has sufficiently demonstrated.
Thus an imprudently established law, accustoming
subjects to disobedience and contempt of authority,
introduces licentiousness.
But if the law requiring celibacy has this incon-
venience in common with other impolitic laws, it
has, besides, a direct tendency to demoralization
of a still more important bearing, as I will proceed
to show.
Before the priest — especially the cure of souls —
from the unhappy moment in which he yields to
illicit inclinations, two roads are opened leading to
the very abyss of ruin, one of which he will inevita-
bly follow — that of apostacy, or that of aggravated
wickedness. If he continues to believe in religion,
he finds himself arraigned as a criminal by the
principles he professes, and convicted of nefarious
sacrilege every time he exercises a ministry pol-
luted with such a crime. f Shame or interest in
the beginning overcome remorse, and by degrees
habit is confirmed ; thus, in a short time the
transgression of so many and such sacred laws
capacitate him for any crime. Hence the adage,
" to him that, is lost, every thing is gainT \
But, if he can not resist remorse, he resorts to
* Disertas. ao 4, Seculo da Historia.
t Vide Appendix B.
% A hum perdido, tudo faz conta.
58 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
deism, and organizes a religion to suit his inclina-
tions ; or, perhaps, to the greater injury of himself
and society, he lapses into the dark and doubtful
system of atheism or materialism, and under the
mask of hypocrisy continues to receive the conve-
niences and emoluments offered him by the sacred
ministry of religion. I appeal to experience.
Let the testimony of impartial observers be re-
garded.
The priest who is given to monied speculations
or to gambling, who is negligent, fretful, ambitious,
proud, or avaricious, finds a thousand pretexts
which seem to lessen his guilt and to palliate
conscience ; he may be self-deceived, and in the
supposition of good faith may still exercise his
ministry with profit to the faithful (!). This the
incontinent priest can not do. Christian morality
teaches him that in this class of transgressions
there is no insignificance ; every act is great, is
mortal sin. Weakness and passion may cause his
will to yield, but they can not seduce his reason,
while he does not cast off the religious principles
of his profession. Hence incontinence extends
and communicates vice to all his actions, which
thus become necessarily corrupted. For this
reason it will be exceedingly difficult to find an
incontinent priest who is not, in other respects,
wicked. Here also is the reason why the greater
share of impartial historians bestow so much praise
on the Greek and Protestant clergy, when they
compare their morality with that of Catholic priests
in general.*
* St. Peter Damian says, that when he went to the bishopric
of Turin he found the ecclesiastics of that place very upiight
and well-instructed— satis honesti et decenter instruct!— but
PUBLIC IMMORALITY. 59
§3. IMMORALITY IN THE PRIEST HAS A PECULIAR
TENDENCY TOWARD PUBLIC IMMORALITY.
Being certain that a forced celibacy is the origin
and principal cause of the immorality of the clergy,
it becomes us now to observe, that this conduces
in an especial manner toward immorality in
society at large.
Religion consists of two parts : speculative and
practical. The first relates to faith, the second
to duty. Now, inasmuch as public morality is
closely allied to religion, and in fact an essential
part of it, and inasmuch as the priests are the
administrators of it, being charged by the sacred-
ness of their office with the reform of morals,
and for this purpose nearly all receiving public
salary and emoluments ; why do not those results
appear which ought to be expected 1 It is because
their conduct is in contradiction with their opin-
ions ; their examples are not conformable to their
precepts, and their words are destitute of unction
and of life ; because their ministry is discharged
in a formal and idle manner ; and because their
views and purposes do not accord with the objects
and institutions of religion.
The parish priest baptizes, preaches, and hears
confessions, but how does he discharge those
important offices ? A vain outside, often even
divested of decency, is what for the most part
offers itself to the eyes of the serious observer.
learning that they were married by permission of Conibertus
their bishop, the light became extinguished in darkness, and
his joy was turned into sorrow. So great is the power of
prejudice ; but the truth is evident to any one wishing to see
it. Dissert. 2, opus. 18.
60 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
And why does this happen ? Because his con-
science condemns all his actions, and condemns
them because they are poisoned by that radical
vice, incontinence. Thus the sacred ministry is
not only rendered useless, but the priest, going on
by degTees to discredit and render suspected the
morality he teaches, augments the number of
transgressors.
Certain oft-repeated objections are commonly
opposed to these arguments : 1 . That it is not
incontinence which renders a priest vicious. 2.
That if the transgression of a law was a sufficient
reason for its revocation, then no law, however
just, could be preserved. Miserable objections
these, because 1. We have already shown that
although ecclesiastics are subject to many vices,
nevertheless the one in question is their easily
besetting sin, and has a necessary tendency ta
demoralize both priest and people. 2. Because it
is an incontestible truth, that when a law, instead
of promoting its contemplated object, on the con-
trary goes to defeat that object, it is for that reason
unfounded and unworthy to continue in force.
Now, this truth is applicable to the law of celib-
acy and others like it, but not to those necessary
laws which have for their sole object the protection
of the natural rights of men.
Independent of any legislation, robbery, murder,
calumny, and treason, will always be wrong ;
hence the legislator should never cease to impose
penalties upon such delinquencies. They are
always evil ; there is no case in which they can
be tolerated. This is not the case with marriage,
which is only wrong because the law makes it so,,
THE LAW IS USELESS. 61
and since this law, very far from conducting priests
to perfection, on the contrary leads the greater
part of them to perdition, policy and justice require
the legislator to revoke it.
We grant that the priest may be a wicked man ;
he may trample upon the most sacred laws because
he is a man ; although married, he may be an adul-
terer or a debauchee ; but in either of these cases
let him be corrected with all the severity of law,
and if incorrigible, dismissed from his high voca-
tion. But if his difficulty, the origin of his
misfortune, is a propensity to incontinence, the
only remedy is matrimony. That remedy is prop-
er ; it may not be infallible.*
But let us suppose that the law requiring celib-
acy is just, and not calculated to occasion immo-
rality, still it is useless, as we now proceed to show.
§4. THE LAW REQUIRING CELIBACY IS USELESS.
No person in the general, being obliged to mar-
ry, celibacy on the other hand being in all respects
a less expensive state of life, we everywhere find,
and at all times, a great number attached to it, of
both sexes, and especially among Catholics, many
living chastely, independent of law requiring them
to do so.
The calculation of advantages of a temporal
kind to some, and spiritual to others, is the com-
pass which guides their choice in embracing this
state, and although not prohibited from contracting
matrimony they remain single until new views of
temporal or spiritual happiness incline them to a
different choice. All know the difficulty a man
* 1 Ep. ad Cor. cap. 7, v. 2.
62 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
will have in contenting himself in a state which
seems contrary to his nature, and hence is forced
upon him.
Now if these things are so, what is the advan-
tage of the law of celibacy ? Nothing whatever.
Those who are continent with the law would be
without it, or more correctly speaking, the number
of continent persons would be greater in absence
of the law. If indeed it be credible that a single
individual remains in absolute continence in virtue
of the law, who would not without it, it may also
be affirmed that he who is thus made to strive
with nature and to endeavor to overcome his in-
clination (because in the supposition, he is inclined
to matrimony) loses the best moments of his life
in a combat where no victory is to be gained ;
moments which otherwise would be employed in
the discharge of important duties which nature
and religion enjoin. For the merit of continence
does not consist in the privation of enjoyment, but
in an appropriate disposition, which through it is
acquired, in view of more important ends. Thus
teaches St. Paul.*
Now, since the legislator ought not to circum-
scribe or restrain uselessly the liberty of subjects,
it is evident that thwjaw ought to be abolished
from the very fact that it is useless.
§5. ITS ABROGATION IS THE DESIRE OF PRU-
DENT MEN.
The necessity of revoking a law enjoining a
forced celibacy, has been seen by many enlight-
ened minds, and ardently desired by good men,
* 1 Ep. ad Corinth, c. 7, v. 32.
ITS ABROGATION DESIRED. 63
who could not look with indifference upon the
misfortunes of their fellow-beings. It has also
been urgently insisted upon by monarchs, who,
ignorant of their rights or slaves of the supersti-
tion of their times, have had recourse to an au-
thority which then had the power to impose and
revoke at will any impediment to matrimony.
In the general Council of Constance, the Em-
peror Sigismund earnestly besought that clerical
celibacy might be abolished.
At the Councils of Pisa and Basil, similar
solicitations were made, but were neutralized by
political considerations.*
At the Council of Trent, the almost unanimous
desire of Catholic princes was expressed in favor
of the same object.
The Duke of Bavaria, on that occasion, demon-
strated the necessity of the measure with an ad-
mirable energy, explaining the political and moral
reasons on which it was founded. Beside other
things, he remarked as follows : " That among 50
priests there would scarcely be found one who
did not live in a state of notorious concubinage.
That not only priests but laymen required the abo-
lition of the law, and also patrons of churches,
who had become unwilling to grant benefices ex-
cept to married men. That it was better to abro-
gate the law than to open the door to an impure
celibacy. That it was an absurdity to refuse
married men an entrance into orders, and yet to
tolerate those who lived in fornication. That, in
fine, if it was determined to bind priests to abso-
* Lanfani. Hist, de Cone, de Base.
64 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
lute continence, they must only ordain old men."*
Such was more or less the language of other
Catholic princes.
Cardinal Zaburela in the Council of Constance,
the Bishop of Salsburgh and others in their syn-
ods, Cardinal Lorena at Trent, and the Archbishop
of Granada, whose discourse is said to be still
preserved in the Jesuits library of that city, made
great efforts toward revoking the regulation, and
the Archbishop of Praga and the Bishop of the
five churches determined to oppose the vote taken,
but were dissuaded. f
Pius II., before his elevation to the papal chair
regarded the prohibition of matrimony to priests
as the fruitful source of condemnation to great
numbers who otherwise would be saved in the
use of lawful marriage. J
Polidorus Virgilius maintained that there was
no institution which had done more to bring dis-
grace upon the ecclesiastical office, which had
* Fleury Hist. Eccl.
t Fleury — Hernando de Avila — Curayer — Vargas and others.
Although the Fathers of the Council of Trent well under-
stood that celibacy as a matter of discipline might be dispen-
sed with, as Pius V. said in his interview with Amulius the
embassador of Venice, yet they thought it most prudent not
to take that step at a time when heretics renounced vows of
celibacy as unworthy of God and opposed to nature, which
we do not assert, when such vows are voluntary. Experi-
ence, however, has shown hoAV much more prudent it would
be to shut the mouths of heretics and libertines by granting
priests at once the only remedy to incontinence, and providing
for their happiness in a natural and decisive manner ! It is
probable that a council in the 19th century would act very
differently, being removed from the contentions which pre-
vailed at that period, and having before their eyes the unal-
tered picture of the frailty of their priests.
I AnnallO.. L. 11.
ITS ABROGATION DESIRED. 65
caused greater evils to religion or greater grief to
good men.*
Having now demonstrated the necessity of abol-
ishing celibacy as a requisite to clerical orders, so
that a priest may lawfully marry, it still remains
to satisfy the fearful consciences of those persons
who without reflecting themselves, and sustained
only by the prejudice and false doctrine of others,
who seize upon their credulity to alarm their fears
and prejudice them against the truth, think that
the celibacy of priests is an order of heaven and
that no human power has a right to revoke it.
I shall therefore prove from the history of the
church and the authority of credited authors, that
clerical celibacy is neither a divine nor apostolic
institution ; that it originated about the commence-
ment of the 4th century ; that it did not become
a regulation of discipline in the western church
until after the 1 2th century, and that the eastern
church up to the present has permitted her minis-
ters to marry without the Latin church ever daring
to censure the practice, while, on the contrary,
the latter has even authorised and permitted it
to those who in modern times have become incor-
porated with her.
* Detrer. invent., L. 5., c.4. I know that many good men
have defended the celibate, but after all, they can prove nothing
but the excellence of chastity and the antiquity of the law
we are discussing, which are granted at once. They, how-
ever, are very cautious about saying a word upon the good
and evil which have constantly resulted from the law which
has always been in disuse as impracticable. This is our
task. We are showing the real origin of the institution, and
its consequences, but we do not deny that he who has the
gift of continence may be more happy than the married man,
St. Paul teaches this, experience sustains it, and that is
sufficient.
6*
66 CLERICAL CELIBACY
§6. CLERICAL CELIBACY IS NOT A DIVINE IN-
STITUTION.
If Ave look at the gospel, not a word is found
from which it can be inferred, I do not say clearly,
but even with the most forced construction, that
Christ enjoined celibacy upon his ministers, or
even recommended it to them. The only text
on which such a construction is attempted, is this :
" If any man come to me and hate not his father
and mother, and wife and children, and brethren
and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he can not
be my disciple."*
I need not tire the reader with the refutation of
any attempt to found the precept of celibacy on
this passage. Every Christian knows how much
he ought to respect and love both father and
mother, and yet God approves that both be forsa-
ken that he may cleave to his wife ; and that
Christ by those words designed to teach nothing
more than the necessity of being resolved to for-
sake things even the most dear, when they shall
become an obstacle to salvation.
Nor is it the Christian merely who ought to
profess these principles. The good citizen ought
not to hesitate in abandoning these relatives, or
even life itself, when his country demands such a
sacrifice. This is very evident. The contrary
would be absurd and even impious, and a resort
to such texts for such a cause, is the greatest
proof of its unreasonableness.
The gospel speaks a thousand times of virgins,
but never advises one to perpetuate her celibacy.
* St. Luc, cap. 14, V. 26.
NOT AN APOSTOLIC INSTITUTIdST. 67
When Christ remarked that many become
eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake, he was
evidently replying to his disciples, who thought
the condition of that man hard who was separated
from his wife, an adultress, without power to
marry again ; and designed to show that there are
many circumstances in which man is required to
deny himself for the sake of gaining heaven.
But we leave this topic. The church has de-
cided, founding her position on the doctrines of
St. Paul ; and the practice of the early Christians
also indicates that celibacy is a more perfect state,
and hence preferable to matrimony, as giving the
individual more liberty to apply himself to the
things of the kingdom of God.
But because celibacy is a more perfect state, it
does not follow that it is necessary and indispen-
sable to the priest. Poverty is also a state very
highly commended in the gospel, but was it en-
joined absolutely on clergymen ? Why is this
left open to choice or circumstance, and not the
former ? One thing is certain, neither one nor the
other were insisted on by Christ himself as es-
sential to his ministers.
§7. CLERICAL CELIBACY IS NOT AN APOSTOLIC
INSTITUTION.
St. Paul, the only one of the apostles who treats
ex professo, upon the character required in deacons,
presbyters, or bishops, says : " A bishop must be
blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, so-
ber, of good behavior,"* &c. ; and when he rec-
ommends Timothy to " lay hands suddenly on no
* 1 Ep. a Tjmoth. cap. 3, v. 2.
68 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
man, neither be a partaker of other men's sins,"
he concludes by saying, " keep thyself pure."
From these and other passages, we may learn,
since St. Paul recommends that the bishop and
deacon be the husband of one wife,* that the con-
tinence and chastity required of them is consistent
with matrimony ; since it is beyond doubt that
improprieties often exist in connexion with that
state, and that excesses occur reproved by reason
and condemned by revelation.
St. Paul indeed teaches this in his first letter to
the Corinthians, and St. Clement of Alexandria
describes what continence is among the married. f
Pafnucius very plainly says that the conjugal act
is chastity. J St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, St.
John Chrysostom, and others, prove that chastity
may be preserved in matrimony, and this is the
language of the church herself. 11
Such also were the sentiments of Christian an-
tiquity ; for although numberless canons were de-
creed, prohibiting marriage to priests, founded on
other reasons, yet never was any mention made
of the precepts of St. Paul, of which, had they
* It is generally known that among the Jews polygamy was
permitted, and concubinage was tolerated among the Pvonians,
and that among both it was permitted to divorce wives and
marry others, while the first were yet living. It was doubt-
less with reference to these facts that St. Paul requires the
minister to be the husband nf one wife.
t Eum qui uxorem ducit, pro libcrorum procatione exercere
oportet continentiam, ut ne suamquidem, concupiscat uxorem,
quam debet diligere, honestate et moderate voluntato operam
dans liberis, &c. Str. 3.
I Congressum viri cum uxore legitima castitatom esse ad-
serens, &c. Selvagio, Lib. 1 , Paf.
II Homil. 26 in Math. Sicut crudelis et iniquus est, qui cas-
tam dimittit uxorem, Uc- Liv de bon. conj.
ITS HISTORY. 69
existed, those legislators who were so zealous to
enjoin clerical celibacy as an apostolic institution,
would have gladly availed themselves.*
Having now demonstrated that neither Christ
nor his apostles established this institution, nor in-
deed advised Christian ministers invariably to fol-
low such a state of life, I pass to consider its ac-
tual origin and progress.!
^8. HISTORY OF CLERICAL CELIBACY.
Documents are rare respecting this subject,
until subsequent to the third century. This, how-
ever, ought to be declared, that while no labor has
been spared to discover all that existed, the only
ones that appear, are in favor of the liberty then
enjoyed by ministers, of marrying and living as
husbands with their wives.
St. Ignatius, a disciple of the apostles, rebukes
and even threatens with condemnation him who
by a profession of chastity should think himself
greater than a bishop.J From this passage it is
naturally inferred that such presumption on the
part of the bachelor was founded on the idea that
on account of professing a state of perfection he
thought himself for that reason superior even to a
* A council held at Rome by Gregory VII., 1074, was the
first which ever assumed to explain the words of St. Paul in
the sense in which they are now held by our opponents.
t This is according to the explanation of the very authors
who defend the celibate. Perpetua lex continentiae nee a
Christo nee ab apostolis sacris ministris imposita fuit. Natal.
Alexan. Prop. 3. Diss, ad 4 cent.
Nullo autem jure Divino, nee naturali nee positive earn cler-
icis praeceptam esse satis certum est. Riger Tom 3, Tit. 3.
t Si gloriatur, periit. Etsi se maioram Episcopo censet, in-
teriet. Ad. Poly. No. 5.
70 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
bishop, who led an ordinary life ; which is to say,
that of a married man.
St. Clement, of' Alexandria, that father who
was acquainted with the immediate disciples of
the apostles ; that celebrated individual who, on
account of his erudition both sacred and profane,
was selected to preside over the most distinguished
religious school then in existence, is decided on
this subject.
His authority is much greater on this subject
since he treats of it ex professo. He had two
sorts of adversaries to contend with ; some who
detested matrimony and others who held all sorts
of debauchery to be lawful. When he contended
with the latter, who pretended to find authority in
some misinterpreted expression of St. Nicolas,
one of the seven deacons in the days of the apos-
tles, he asserted that Nicolas had nothing to do
with any other female than his own wife, to whom he
was married. This proves the use of matrimony
among priests, and by whom ? By St. Nicolas
himself.
When he combated the enemies of matrimony,
who alleged the example of Jesus Christ, who
never married, he replied, that the Savior had no
need of a helpmate, that it was not his object
during his sojourn on earth to train up children,
but that the church was his bride.
He attacked his adversaries with the example
of St. Peter and St. Philip, who had wives and
children. No one will attribute to Clement of
Alexandria the unskilfulness and absurdity of
attempting to confute heretics with facts relating
to those individuals, while yet Pagans or mere
ITS HISTORY. 71
Jews ; hence we must suppose him acquainted
with the fact that those apostles had children after
their call to the apostolic office.* This is by no
means improbable, since, from the gospel itself we
learn that the disciples frequently absented them-
selves from the company of their divine master,
and it is natural to suppose that this time was
spent in their several families.
He also confounds the heretics with the doctrine
of St. Paul, who admits married men even to the
episcopacy, in case they properly conduct them-
selves in conjugal life, and adds still more, that in
the procreation of children they will be saved. f
W.hoeA^er gives credence to this most worthy
authority, will necessarily be convinced that up to
his time no such prohibition existed, but on the
contrary, that Christian ministers enjoyed full
liberty to marry or not. This he plainly asserts.
This father, in his other works, the Pedagogue,
and the True Gnostic, proposes maxims of the
purest virtue, and those which still remain like a
fountain of pure morality ; hence he can in no
way be suspected of laxity of views.
Tertulian, who went to such an excess as to
condemn first marriages, as embracing the elements
of fornication, and even presumes to censure
St. Paul for permitting second marriages, even then
did not make use of the great argument against
the marriage of priests. It can hardly be possible
that he would have abandoned that strong support
to his paradox if such a practice had been in
existence.
"* Stromat. 3.
t Ibidem. Servabitur autem per filioriim procrationem.
Scd unusquisque nostrum habet, si velit, potestatem ducendi
iegiliuuiiii uxorem in primis, inquam, nuptiis.
72 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
When lie exhorted the people to chastity, he
reminded them that there were many examples
of it among the clergy.* This implies, of course,
that marriage was common among them. Ori-
gen, who carried continence to the extreme of
literally making himself a eunuch, scarcely distin-
guishing between the sacrifices of the old and new
law, gives his opinion, that " if in the former,
priests ought to abstain from the use of matrimony
when they were about to sacrifice, that in the lat-
ter also, he who would, in an acceptable manner,
offer sacrifices, should dedicate himself to per-
petual chastity." This was merely his opinion — ■
videtur mihi. He moreover confesses that he
" knows not how to explain the reason why the
church admits the husband of one wife to be a
bishop, when, perhaps, he may lead a less conti-
nent life than the husband of two." f
Thus much Ave learn of the times in which he
lived. From the institution of Christianity celib-
acy was held in high repute, and great numbers
devoted themselves to it. Athenagorus, St. Justin,
Minucius, Felix, and others, state this distinctly.
Ministers chosen from among the heads of fami-
lies, as St. Paul recommended ; men of age, as
the name presbyter signifies, gave the edifying
example of every species of virtue. When, how-
ever, a man who had vowed chastity for the sake
of spiritual profit, entered the ministry and then
married, such a step would be looked upon with a
natural surprise, very similar to what occurs
among us when a young lady leaves a recolhimentoX
* Lib. de Exort. Cast. cap. 5 et 13.
t Rom. 23 in Num. Certum est, quae impeditur &c.
X A species of mumery, where females are educated,
ITS HISTORY. 73
in order to marry, or when a devout monk secular-
izes himself; but since they merely descend from
a certain degree of perfection to the ordinary state
of life, they commit no crime although the step
they take is calculated to produce astonishment,
and perhaps abhorrence, in society. This, we
may conjecture, began to take place toward the
end of the third century.
The first fact which history records relative to
the law of celibacy, relates to Pinitus, bishop of
Gnosa, who in A. D. 171 contemplated enforcing
it ; but St. Dyonisius, bishop of Corinth, that wise
and zealous prelate, who watched over neighboring
dioceses as well as his own, wrote to him, exhorting
him not to impose a heavy burden on his brethren,
but to have regard to the common weakness of men*
The year 300 is the first in which a council
forbade the use of matrimony to married priests. f
In 315, the Council of Neocesarea, in the first
canon, determined the deposition of the minister
who should marry; and in canon eight, orders him
to be suspended who should have intercourse with
his own wife, as though she were an adulteress.
In 319, by the Council of Ancyra, it was still
granted to deacons to marry after their ordination,
if in the act of ordination they protested that they
so desired.
In A. D. 325 the first general council was held
at Nice. Some one was present to whom it
occurred to bring into force the law of celibacy,
with the privilege of leaving when they or their friends
desire ; and where the veil is not taken, although some remaia
for hfe.— [Trans.
* Euseh. Hist. Eccl. lib. 4, cap. 23.
t Cone, de Elvira, c. 33. Piacuit in totum, &c.
7
74: CLERICAL CELIBACY.
but the advice of Pafimcius was followed. That
holy prelate, among other things, remarked — that
the council ought to be content with the ancient
custom of those priests remaining single who were
ordained in that state.* That council consequently
left things as it found them ; that is, they suffered
each individual to be governed by his own choice.
Writers of this century, notwithstanding they
appear to be considerably influenced by the spirit
of celibacy, yet confess that there was either no
law enjoining it, or that, at least, it was not general
in the church.
St. Athanasius, in his- letter to Draconcius, ob-
served, that there were many bishops single, and
many monks who had children ; whence it is inferred
that in either state persons would consult their
inclinations. This proves liberty, not law.
St. Bazil, at the end of the same century, ob-
serves respecting professed continence, that it was
not then common, except among monks, who ap-
peared to have tacitly embraced it.
Eusebius says that the gospel does not prohibit
matrimony, and that what St. Paul desired was, that
a bishop should only have married once, after the
example of Noe, &c. He adds that it is proper,
nevertheless, for those who are elevated to the
priesthood to abstain from familiarity with their
wives. This is merely his opinion — decet — he
refers to no law.f
Socrates, contemporary to many of the fathers
present at the Council of Nice, relates that in his
time there was no general law requiring celibacy^
* Choasi. Hist. Eccl. 4 cent,
t Demonatr. lib. 1 , cap. 9.
ITS HISTORY. 75
although it was common through choice. He
mentions several places where the bishops still
had children.*
St. Jerome himself, who went to the extreme of
monastic austerity, both in sentiment and practice,
who sometimes needs to be defended from the
imputation of having condemned matrimony, even
he, when contending with Vigilancius, who denied
the merit of continence, only ifiade mention of the
example or custom of the churches of Antioch,
Egypt, and Rome, which selected for their minis-
ters either single men, or those married men wlio
abandoned conjugal life. This proves that other
churches had a different discipline. f
The council of Carthage, A. D. 348, very far
from establishing the precept of celibacy, merely
commands those ministers who do not wish to
marry, but who prefer the perfection of continence,
to avoid residing in company with females not of
their kindred, as the General Council of Nice had
already determined.J
St. Ambrose simply says, " that when married
men were admitted to the sacred ministry, it was
hoped they would withdraw themselves from their
wives ;" and referring to single men, he confesses
that they were not obliged to be ordained sucli.^
St. Cyril had previously remarked, that those icho
desired to fulfil worthily, that is, in the most per-
fect manner, their ministry, lived in celibacy. \ To
this we cheerfully assent, on condition, however,
that the celibacy be chaste and real,
* Lfb. 5, cap. 22. Hist. Eccl.
t Jerom. adv. Vig. % Canon 3.
§ Non quo exsortem excludat conjugis, non hoc supra legem
praecepti est, sed ut conjugali castimonia ferret ablutionis
suae gratiam. H Catechis. 12.
76 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
It appears that in some places men carried con-
tinence to such an excess as to abandon even their
own wives, interpreting the scriptures literally, or
rather materially, as was done afterward, which
circumstance gave rise to the sixth apostolic
canon, by which deposition and excommunication
are denounced against him who should abandon his
wife under the pretext of religion, and to the fifty-
first canon, v/hich* commands that priest to be
deposed who shall abstain from matrimony^ not
through a spirit of mortification, but on the ground
that it is wicked*
Granting to critics that the apostolic canons, as
well as the apostolic constitutions, are a compen-
dium of the discipline most common in the fourth
and fifth centuries ; yet it is important to observe
the manner in which the twenty-seventh canon
and the 17th chapter of the sixth book are ex-
pressed. From those parts, it is manifest that the
prohibition of matrimony to priests was a new
law, and not the repetition of an old one.j
Variety of discipline on this point could scarcely
be greater. In one part priests were married ; in
* A thousand contortions have been applied to these canons,
in order to wrest from them their force ; but a comparison of
them with the apostolic constitutions and the Council of Trullo,
will show that we haA^e given their true meaning. Can. 6.
Episcopus aut Presbyter uxorem propriam nequaquam sub
obtenter religionis abjiciat, &c. Vide etiam can. 51.
t Can. 27. Innuptis autem, qui ad Clerum provecti sunt
pragcipimus, ut, si voluerint uxores accipiant, sed Lectores
Caiitoresque tantumodo.
Const, ap. Lib. 6, cap. 17. In Episc. a Diac. constitui prae-
cipimus viros unius matrimonii, sive vivant eorum uxores sive
obierint : nnn licere autem illis post ordinationem, si uxores
non habent, matrimonium contrahere ; aut si uxores habeant,
cum aliis copulari sed contentos esse ea, quam habentes, ad
ordinationem venenuit.
ITS HISTORY. 77
another, only deacons ; and in a third, only readers
and singers. In some places, married men were
prohibited the conjugal life ; and in others, those
who abandoned their wives were punished. Yet
the number of nuns and monks, on the whole,
increasing, and the greater proportion of bishops
being selected from among the latter, or at least
from among those who professed an ascetic life, it
was natural that the people should, by degrees,
begin to look with indifference upon married priests,
as though they led a life of inferior sanctity to that
of those who professed the perfection of conti-
nence.* This disposition being fostered, until it
grew into a species of contempt for those who did
not exhibit that show of perfection, many were at
length found who were unwilling to witness the
celebration of mass by married priests. Some
even affirmed that the wives of priests could not
be saved. t
The professors of continence insulted their
brethren who were married, so that the Council of
Gangres, in 380, had occasion to anathematize
them, and declare that although it did not disap-
prove of continence, it condemned the arrogance
of those who, under pretext of it, exalted them-
selves above others who adopted a simple and
common mode of life.|
* Such is the power of prejudice, that even among us a large
proportion of the common people would have less averson Xo
hear mass and receive the sacraments from a priest living^
notorious concubinage, than from one who was married, but
led an acknowledgedly virtuous life. So greatly does' the
pretence of perfection impose upon the ignorant. We ought,
however, to desire truth and not imposture.
f Cone de Gang. can. 4. Can. 1, seg. Grat. Dist. 30, can. 12
S. Greg. Nan. Orat. 40, S. Joh. Chrysos. Ep. ad Tit.
J Canon 21.
7*
78 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
It was the Latin church that insisted most upon
the celibacy of the clergy, but we have already
had occasion to observe to what extent the law
was despised and even forgotten, in its very origin,
and at the places where it was decreed. In 390
the Council of Carthage established it again, as
though it were new.*
The Council of Toledo, assembled from all
Spain in 400, did not then presume to chastise those
clergymen who were married previous to the pre-
ceding council, but contented itself with deter-
mining that they should not be promoted to the
higher orders. The same determination is met
with in the Council of Turin, composed of the
bishops of Gaul and Italy.
In 402, a council at Rome obliged (can. 3)
priests and deacons to remain in celibacy, giving
no other reason than that they were required to
offer sacrifice and to baptize ; not basing the regu-
lation upon anterior laws, but upon the example of
priests in the Levitical law.
In the Council of Telipta, 418, canon 4, celibacy
was ordained for bishops, priests, and deacons, as
though for the first time, and without any penalty
for disobedience.
That of Orange, 441, canon 22, revoked the
regulation of the Council of Ancyra, which obliged
deacons to vow chastity at their ordination, and in
canon 4, determined that those hitherto ordained
might be promoted to the superior orders, notwith-
standing their conjugal life.
The Council of Tyre in 461, canon 1, exhorted
priests to a life of continence, that they miglit
' Can. 2.
ITS HISTORY. 79
better apply themselves to prayer, &c., but mod-
erated the rigor of previous canons.
That of Agda, 506, in the first and second can-
ons, orders merely to suspend, without deposition,
those priests who were married for the second
time, or married to widows. That of Gerona, 517,
canons 6 and 7, orders that the bishop, priest,
deacon, and sub-deacon, who may be married, to live
apart from their wives, or that they have in their
company a clerical friend, as witness of their con-
tinence. This is manifestly contradictory to the
sixth apostolic canon.
Justinian, early in the sixth century, in his law
de Epis. et Cler. prohibits the marriage of priests;
but St. Gregory the Great, in 580, but little after-
wards, when Pelagius obliged sub-deacons to
separate from their wives, observed that it was
hard to subject them to a law which they had not
promised to keep, and that in future they should
only be obliged to promise chastity when they
were ordained.
St. Augustine, the apostle of England, was
either so ignorant of this law, or else found it so
impracticable, that he consulted St. Gregory to
know if priests, incapable of maintaining absolute
continence, could marry and yet continue in the
sacred ministry.*
Such was the confusion and variety of discip-
line on this subject up to the seventh century.
Each diocese had its own practice, and each deter-
mined as seemed it best. But we must not lose
sight of the vexations and abuses practised in
order to put in execution a law which originated
* V. the reply of Gre^. to Augustine.
80 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
more from the private notions of those who de-
creed it, than from any utility that could result
from it.* That such was its origin we have al-
ready shown, and it is abundantly manifest from
the insufficiency of those means employed to en-
force it.
The sixth general council was at length held.
In it no disciplinary canons were enacted. Mean-
time, uniformity of discipline was loudly called
for on several points, and especially relating to the
celibacy of priests, touching which there prevailed
such contradictory practices. Eleven years sub-
sequent, at the solicitation of most of the bishops
who were present at that general council, Justinian
couA'^oked another as supplementary to it. More than
two hundred bishops were consequently assembled
in the emperor's palace, with the especial purpose
of reforming and harmonizing the discipline of
different sections of the church. We then, for
the jfirst time, see a general council establishing
the law of celibacy. But in what manner was it
done ? This we proceed to show.f
The council says : | " Since in the apostolic
canons, marriage is not permitted except to readers
and singers, we henceforth prohibit it to sub-dea-
cons, deacons, and presbyters, under penalty of
deposition. Whoever, therefore, wishes " to marry,
must do so before entering either of these orders."
" We know that in the church at Rome married
priests are required to abandon their wives ; but
we, following the perfection of the apostolic can-
* Fleury on the 7th cent.
t Consult Fleury also on this council. His testimony is the
more authoritative, since he defended the celibate.
X Const. 3, Imp. Leon.
ITS HISTORY. 81
ons, desire that such marriages remain in force,
and that such persons be not deprived of the so-
ciety of their wives when they may with propriety
enjoy it. Hence, if any married man be judged
worthy of the holy ministry, he shall not be exclu-
ded from it on account of being married, nor in
his ordination shall he be made to promise to
abandon his wife, lest dishonor be brought on
matrimony, which God has instituted and blessed
with his presence."
" Every one therefore who in contempt of the
apostolic canons shall presume to deprive either
priest, deacon, or sub-deacon of the lawful society
of his wife, shall be deposed. Those, however,
who think they ought to elevate themselves above
the regulation of the apostles, which forbids a man
to forsake his wife under religious pretensions,
and to do more than is divinely required of them,
if they can part with their wives, by mutual con-
sent, we command them to do so, and to show us
their sincerity."
This council has been generally accredited.
Pope Sergius, however, refused to acknowledge
it ; but that is not to be wondered at, for Rome
alwa)^s pretending to be not only the mother and
mistress but also the queen of churches, never
tolerated any censure upon her acts. Neverthe-
less, the council in Trullo was recognised by the
eastern church, under the title Quinisist^ as sup-
plementary both to the 5th and 6th, and its author-
ity remains still in force.
CLERICAL CELIBACY.
(a). Reflections upon the course of Pafnucius ; and
upon the validity and legitimacy of the Quinisist
Council.
The advocates of a forced celibacy regard
these two circumstances as the shoal on which all
their arguments make shipwreck, and hence they
endeavor in every way to pervert, disfigure, and
question them. But notwithstanding all the quib-
bling that can be exhausted upon facts so notorious
and incontestable they are recognised as authentic.
The course taken by Pafnucius, has been de-
tailed by Socrates, who had conversed with many
of the fathers present at the Council of Nice ; by
Sozomeneus, a writer almost contemporary ; by
Oelazius, who in the 5th century wrote a history
of the acts of this council ; by Suidas and others.
Dupin remarks, that " those who doubt this fact
must do so through fear of the censure it brings
upon the discipline of the church at the present
day, rather than on the ground of any reasoning
that can be alleged against it." Indeed Fleury
does not contest it, nor does even Bergier dare to
deny it.
The council at Trullo was convoked by the Em-
peror Justinian at the solicitation of many of the
bishops present at the 6th general council ; a for-
mality which preceded anterior councils. It was
numerously attended, consisting of more than 200
bishops, among whom were the four great patri-
archs in person, and the pope by his legates.
There was perfect liberty in voting. In it was
no attempt to define doctrines, but simply to regu-
late general discipline on those points in which
ITS HISTORY. 83
uniformity had been wanting, or departures from
the spirit of the church had taken place.
Now for such an object 200 bishops from the
principal churches, were more than sufficient to
collate the different usages of their several dio-
ceses in order to choose that discipline most gen-
erally received, and best adapted to the necessi-
ties of the church.
They all subscribed to the canons of this coun-
cil, including the legates of the pope ; although
the latter afterward pretended they did it in the
surprise of the moment ; in fine the emperor ac-
cepted and confirmed them. Let the reader now
judge which exhibits the most candor, wisdom,
and prudence ; the eastern church in adopting and
following the discipline fixed upon by this coun-
cil without a dissenting vote ; or that of Rome in
refusing to become subject to it because Pope
Sergius stood aloof from it as in some of its can-
ons interfering with the practice of his church.
Who now can tolerate that blind devotion to popes
which has led some to detract from the authority
of a council respected by antiquity, and even in-
corporated by the 7th council general, with the
6th as a supplementary part of that ? The truth
is, that the Romans are not yet willing to submit
themselves to this declaration of the 7th general
council ; but of what consequence is the recogni-
tion of the church at Rome, to the catholicity of
a council ?
St. Antonine, Caetano, Sanderus, Clemangis,
and others, call in question the Council of Pisa,
because, forsooth, Rome became unwilling to rec-
ognise it as legitimate ; nevertheless, Rome at
84 CLERICAL CELIBACY
first regarded it as general, and so do many chitrch-
es at the present day.
The Council of Constance was regarded as
general by the popes Martin V., Eugene IV., and
Pius II. ; but after Rome found some of its pre-
tensions rather inconvenient, she ceased to recog-
nise it as such ; nevertheless, the greater share of
Catholic churches still give it rank among the
general councils. The Council of Bazil is gen-
. . . ^
eral with some, private with others, and part of its
sessions are rejected by a third class. In fact,
there are five opinions respecting its orthodoxy.
The 5th Lateran council is only regarded as
general by the ultramontanists, and that of Flor-
ence is not yet admitted to that category by France,
In view of these facts, from which it appears
that the mere church of France or of Rome can
with impunity recognise or omit to recognise a
council as general, that was held even on doc-
trinal subjects, who can dispute the right of the
eastern church, then the most considerable por-
tion of the whole Catholic body, to sustain the
authority of the Council of Trullo on matters
purely disciplinary ? Rome herself was so well
satisfied of these truths that she has remained
content with preserving her discipline, and never
censuring that of the eastern church, founded on
this council. Other councils general were after-
ward held, in which both churches united, but
none of them assumed to revoke the discipline
established by the Council of Trullo.
ITS HISTORY. 85
(b). Co7itinuation of the history of clerical celibacy ,
subsequent to the seventh century.
The eastern church confirmed its discipline re-
specting the marriage of priests. There, the mar-
ried priest who was ordained, lived as a married
man until death; but if one who had vowed chas-
tity and had been ordained single, then married,
he lost his office as a punishment for his violation
of faith. Continence was required as a perfec-
tion in bishops, but as these were few in number
and generally taken at an advanced age from mon-
asteries, where the practice of this virtue had
been rendered constant and easy, no inconvenience
resulted from the regulation.
Notwithstanding what was decreed at the coun-
cil above referred to, the custom by degrees ob-
tained of priests taking a sort of noviciate of two
years, during which they might still marry, with-
out being dismissed from their office. The Em-
peror Leo abolished this practice as an abuse.*
At length the eastern church ceased altogether
to strive against nature, and to oppose ineffective
barriers to the propensity for matrimony. Her
clergy acquired the public confidence, founded on
the consideration of their virtues. Thus a single
judicious law, adapted equally to the nature of
man and to ecclesiastical dignity, put an end to
evils which the Latin church, in councils, bulls,
and decrees, without number, has attempted, and
to this day endeavors in vain to avoid.
In fact, notwithstanding the rivalry between the
two churches, which would naturally produce the
* Fleury, Hist. eccl. 11 cent.
8
86 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
greatest exactness in the observance of the disci-
pline of each, we find that in the 9tb century the
national Council of Worms established anew the
law of celibacy, under penalty of suspension for
its infraction, just as though the ancient law had
been forgotten.
In the 10th century, the Council of Augsburgh
again prohibited the marriage of bishops, presby-
ters, deacons, and sub-deacons, as it observed ac-
cording to the decree of the Council of Carthage.
Into such disuse had the ancient laws fallen that
this council only thought of referring to that of
Carthage, and not to the decisions of popes, or
even of anterior councils.
Yvo de Chartres, in the 11th century, when
consulted by Galon, Bishop of Paris, respecting
the marriage of one of his canons, replied, that if
a similar thing should occur in his diocese, he
should let the marriage stand, and content himself
with causing the canon to descend to a lower
office. This circumstance proves the disuse into
which the ancient laws on this subject had fallen.
It was so great that even bishops seemed to be
unacquainted with their existence, and the most
scrupulous among them were governed, in cases
like these, merely by their own option.
In the Council of Pavia, at which Benedict
VIII. presided, the penalty of deposition was in-
stituted against priests who kept concubines ; and
horrible is the picture which that pope drew of
the licentious lives which they led.
This doubtless resulted in a great degree from
the prohibition of matrimony, which would natu-
ITS HISTORY. 87
rally be enforced in places under the immediate
inspection of the popes.
It appears that in this century, in far the larger
portion of the Latin church, the law requiring
celibacy was in perfect disuse.
This is what St. Peter Damian affirms to the
pope on the testimony of the bishops. It is what
he himself observed, in the bishopric of Turin,
where the clergy had married by consent of Co-
nibertus, their bishop, and as he confessed, were
the most honorable and learned he had met with.*
The same is gathered from the letter which
Alexander 11. addressed to the king and bishops
of Dalmatia, wherein the pope declared if in future
a bishop, priest, or deacon, should marry or should
retain a wife which he had, he should be degraded
from his office, and should neither assist in the
choir, nor receive the emoluments of the church. f
It is again seen in the decree of Nicolas II., ad-
dressed to the bishops of France, and ordering
that, in consequence of a resolution expressed in
the canons of the Council of Rome, at which he
had presided, every priest who, subsequently to
the decree of Leo IX. (8 years previous), had
publicly married, and did not abandon his wife,
should be deprived of his ecclesiastical functions,
and no longer take part in the sacred offices of a
presbyter.^
It was on this occasion that St. Uldaric, or, as
others prefer to call him, Gontier, chancellor of
the Emperor Henry IV., and Bishop of Bambergh,
* Mabillon Lib. 62. Aniial. ou Ep. 25.
t Hugo Flavi. Tom. 1., nov. Bibliot.
t Escritores da meia idade^ Tom. 2.
88 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
wrote to Nicolas, affirming that the marriage of
priests was neither forbidden by the Old nor New
Testaments ; and concluded by urging the pope
to withdraw his decree, lest it should expose the
clergy to great crimes, by depriving them of the
wives whom they had lawfully married.*
Gregory VII., more active, or less prudent, un-
dertook to restore this discipline, which during sev-
en centuries had not been put in general practice.
He employed every species of means, and by his
order, or in imitation of him, several councils re-
newed the prohibition. But what was the result ?
The clergy of Cambray wrote a letter to their
brethren of Rheims, imploring aid against the Ro-
manists, and against Gerard their bishop, who in-
sisted upon their putting away their wives in obe-
dience to the pope's legate, who was attempting
to enforce a decree so long ineffective.! The
clergy of Nyon wrote a similar letter to that of
Cambray, expressing the same sentiments.}:
The Gallic clergy withstood the decree of Greg-
ory VII., and did not hesitate to pronounce him a
heretic for ordering separation from their wives,
against the express prohibition of scripture. Sig-
ibert, of Glenbour, also remonstrated against the
decree.!
The Archbishop of Mayence and the Bishop
ofPass, 3 declared that, although they ordered the
decree to be enforced, it was simply in awe of
that pope, so inflexible in his opinions. In fact,
* Mabillon Lib. 64. Annal n. 133— Ibid in Append,
f Musaeum Italicum. Tom. 1.
•^ Cellier Hist, des Autenrs Eccl. — Richard's Analysis of
Councils.
II Lambert Stet,
ITS HISTORY. 89
the pope, dissatisfied with such an execution of
his commands, smnmoned the archbishop to appear
in Rome, accompanied by his suffragans.*
Aton, Bishop of Constance, perceiving the evils
that would result from the execution of that im-
prudent decree, not only omitted putting it in force,
but suffered his clergy still to marry ; but the
pope summoned him to Rome, ordered his clergy
and people not to obey him, and at length excom-
municated him.
At the Council of Worms, in presence of Henry
IV., Gregory VII. was deposed by all the bishops
present, on account of the disorders occasioned
by his imprudent decrees. In the same year, the
pope deposed Henry IV., and absolved his vassals
from their oath of allegiance, at the same time
deposing and excommunicating a great number of
bishops, t
These were the results of imprudent and unjust
measures. Public tranquillity was disturbed, and
in many places the clergy themselves rebelled ;
and the superstition of the age favoring the designs
of the pope, whole countries were involved in ter-
rible commotions. The rigor of his indiscreet
zeal by no means moderated, and he at length tri-
umphed, at the expense of religion, and the dis-
credit of the church.J
In the same century, however, the council of
Winchester resolved that married priests might
continue to live with their wives, and that only in
future no one should be ordained without promising
• Vit. Greg. Act. Mabillon.
T V. Hist. Eccl. de Fleury, de Choas and de Qmeiner.
i V. Vol. 5, Sup. to Richard's Annals of the Councils,
&Q CLERICAL CELIBACY.
continence. In Estrigonia, in 1114, Archbishop
Lorenzo, in the 31st canon of the council held in
that city, permitted priests, married before their
ordination, to remain in conjugal life, although prin-
ciples of chastity were enjoined upon them,*
Such was the state of things relating to the
celibacy of the clergy, when the general Lateran
Council of 1139 decreed that all marriages of
priests should be null, subjecting those who had
been guilty of matrimony to penance, and renewing
the prohibition of hearing mass from them or such
as kept concubines. Thenceforward priests could
no longer marry, and concubinage universally took
the place of matrimony.
In 1237, a council in London, at which a Legate
of the Pope presided, in its fifteenth canon, or-^
dained that the clergyman who should marry clan-^
destinely should be deprived of his benefice, and
his children incapable of holding property, or of
receiving ordination. This proves that secret mar-
riages came in vogue when they could no longer
be celebrated openly.
In 1279 the Council of Pont-au-de-mar, canon 20,
again spoke of married priests, in a manner which
proves that in the archbishopric of Rouen clerical
marriages were still tolerated. It is true that
Richard supposes this toleration merely to have
* In reading the records of councils, we find that the rea-
sons oil which their decisions were based, are not in all cases
the best. E. g. the 4th general Lateran Council decided that
an order was not valid unless given in good faith, alleging,
as a foundation of said decision, this maxim — Omne quod
non est ex fide, peccatum est. Nothing could be more ill ap-
plied. Another council general, in prohibiting matrimony
with the four degrees of kindred, founded itself on the four
fluids that composed the four elements, &c. ! !
ITS HISTORY. 91
extended to sub-deacons ; but such a supposition is
purely gratuitous, having no real foundation.
It is worthy of especial remark, that notwith-
standing the reiteration, during successive ages, of
the prohibition forbidding priests to marry, and the
penalties declared against concubinage, yet things
became no better, nor were ecclesiastics punished
according to the laws. Such a phenomenon has
never occurred, except when laws have been man-
ifestly unjust, or ill-adapted to their object. The
innate sentiment of justice opposes the execution
of contradictory laws, sand their executors become
indifferent to their enforcement. Thus nature her-
self supplies the oversight and deficiencies of
imprudent lawgivers.
Finally, the last general council in the sixteenth
vcentury mitigated a little the penalties of concu-
binage, but, as we have already observed, cofirmed
the law making clerical orders an absolute imped-
iment to matrimony, and anathematized those who
.should say that priests might marry in spite of the
ecclesiastical law prohibiting them ; asserting as
a reason, that continence is not impossible, and
•that God will grant it to all who ask for it in a
proper manner *
* What but the most stupid is^norance, joined to the gross-
est superstition, could have reconciled sovereigns to tolerate
certain acts of the councils, e. g. the persecution of Jews and
heretics, with the enslavement of the former ; a prohibition to
jenjoy public offices, and a subjection to be robbed of their
children, &c.
The iburth Lateran Council went so far as to threaten that
the Pope would expose the lands of those prhices who should
not expel heretics from their dominions. It is equally curious
to see the councils of Toledo and Saragossa, in the latter part
of the seventh century, prohibiting the widows of kings to
marry, under pain of excommunication, and obliging them to
take the habit of nuns in some monastery for life, &c., &c.
93 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
This council, however, was not accredited on
points of discipline in many places ; and to this
day, France and Hungary have not consented to
its publication ; while many of its articles have
been reformed, altered, and nullified, sometimes by
popes, sometimes by governments, and finally, by
contrary custom and disuse.
That was certainly attained which some of the
popes desired ; that is, priests were prohibited
marrying. Sovereigns, ignorant of their rights,
frightened by the superstition of their people, and
subject to the dominion of popes, tolerated, or
rather yielded to, the sentiments of their times.*
And if France, free from the ordeal of fire which
was made to devour the victims destined to placate
the wrath of the Omnipotent, when they dared to
question the maxims published by the See of Rome,
had not, by a peculiar providence, preserved some
remnants of liberty, much more tardy had been
the progress and spread of the true principles of
ecclesiastical law.f
One truth ought not to be overlooked ; it is that
clerical orders have prevailed as an absolute im-
pediment to matrimony, only while temporal power
has sustained the measure by the sword ; which
circumstance councils have designed to secure by
the thunder of their anathemas. Whenever sov-
* It ought to be observed, that the liberties of the Roman
Cathohc church in France owe their existence more to the
protestations of government than to the eflbrts of ecclesiastics.
The latter have several times solicited the publication of the
Council of Trent, in which the rights of bishops are very little
consulted ; but the design is apparent, of inculcating the
universal dominion of popes, their supremacy to general
councils, &c., &c.
t V, 1st Council of Vienna, 4th Lateran, that of Florence, &c.
VIEW OF THE INSTITUTION. 93
ereigns have left this matter at the option of
ecclesiastics, they have promptly changed their
concubinage into lawful matrimony. This has
been observed among Protestant sects in England,
and more recently in France.
§9. COMPENDIOUS VIEW OF THE INSTITUTION OF
CLERICAL CELIBACY.
It has now been proved that this institution is nei-
ther divine nor apostolic in its origin ; that up to the
close of the third century Christian ministers were
at liberty to marry, and live a conjugal life with those
wives whom they had espoused prior to their ordi-
nation, although, through custom, their marriages
were rare, and many withdrew from conjugal life
by mutual consent ; that from the beginning of the
fourth century, when the especial law enjoining
celibacy originated, its non-observance was so
uniform, that in many places it fell into perfect
disuse, and even total forgetfulness ; that notwith-
standing the renewak of that law in subsequent
ages, with bitter and most unjust penalties, yet it
never was generally enforced ; that in the eleventh
century, the law in question had fallen into such
complete forgetfulness, that priests married with
impunity in the greater share of dioceses, even
with the permission of their respective bishops ;
and that after the general Lateran Council in the
twelfth century, constituted clerical orders an ab-
solute impediment to matrimony, still, in some
dioceses, the clergy preserved their right to marry.
It has been proved that in the east, from the
beginning, priests have enjoyed the privileges of
marriage contracted before their ordination ; and
94' CLERICAL CELIBACY.
that even those who were single, sometimes, though
rarely, married ; that about the end of the 7th
century, discipline having been hitherto divergent
on this particular, the Quinisist Council confirmed
it for ever, declaring not only that matrimony was
no obstacle to ordination, but that it was criminal
to oblige a priest to abandon his wife ; and that
although a single priest who married subsequent
to his ordination was deposed, yet his marriage
was accounted valid.
Have these practices of the eastern church ever
been condemned by the western? This question
gives rise to the following observation : —
§10. THE WESTERN CHURCH NEVER OPPOSED THE
DISCIPLINE OF THE EASTERN, IN RESPECT TO
THE CELIBACY OF PRIESTS.
The council held in Trullo censured the church
of Rome for excluding her married priests from
conjugal life, contrary to the express declarations
of scripture, and what was still worse, obliging
them to separation. There has not appeared a
council of the Latin church which has attempted
to defend itself from this imputation. The Latin
and Greek churches preserved their unity several
centuries subsequent to this event, and celebrated
together several general councils, which kept
silence on this matter, while each church continued
in its own disciplinary practices.
The two churches at length separated, and when
a re-union was stipulated, the Greek church,
among other things, required of the Latin the abo-
lition of celibacy.* When, in 1215, in the gen-
* Can. 14 ordains punishment in all the rigor of the canons,
against priests living in concubinage, and adds : Qui autem
COMPENDIUM OF THE ARGUMENT. 95
eral Lateran Council, under Innocent III., in
presence of the Patriarchs of Constantinople and
Jerusalem, and of the Emperor of the East, cer-
tain canons were instituted relatiA^e to the Greeks,
the Latins, far from censuring their practice in
retaining married priests, on the contrary, formally
recognised the legitimacy of the usage.*
Innocent III., being consulted to know if the son
of a Greek priest could be promoted to the epis-
copacy, replied, that as the Greek church did not
admit the vow of continence, without the least doubt
the ordination might proceed.j In fine, Benedict
XIV., knowing that he had no right to alter the
discipline respecting celibacy toward those Greeks
who had become reunited with the Latin church,
granted them the preservation of their usages on
this point in the bull 57, de dogm. et rit. ab Itol-
ogre. tenend.|
§11. GENERAL COMPENDIUM OF THE ARGUMENT.
We have now demonstrated the legitimate au-
thority of the General Legislative Assemby of
Brazil, to establish, revoke, and abrogate impedi-
ments to matrimony, as being essentially a civil
contract, and entirely and exclusively subject to
temporal power.
We have demonstrated the necessity of abolish-
secundem regionis suae morem non abdicarunt copulam conju-
galem, si lapsi fuerint, gravius puniatur, cum legitime matri-
monio possunt uti.
* Mandamus, si aliud canonicum non obsistat, ad confirma-
tionem, et consecrationem sine dubitatione procedas. In C.
cum olim de clericis conj.
t V. cap. 6 de cler. conj.
i Burchard's selection of canons, and Richard's reflections
on same. Art. Empecti. del. Ord.
^ CLERICAL CELIBACY.
ing the impediment of clerical orders, as being
unjust, and the cause of immorality both to clergy
and people, and at the very least as useless.
We have further demonstrated, that clerical ce-
libacy was neither enjoined by Christ and his
apostles upon ministers of religion, nor was it
exclusively recommended to them ; that notwith-
standing the discipline of the eastern and western
churches was different, in this respect, from the
close of the 3d or beginning of the 4th century,
yet that circumstance was never a cause of dis-
union or of anathema ; that the Greek church,
however, has always censured the Latin for ex-
cluding married priests from matrimonial life,
while the latter has never taken exception to the
customs of the Greek church on this point, but^
on the contrary, has solemnly recognised them as
legitimate, and permitted their practice to Greek
clergymen who have become united with it.
^12. LAWFULNESS OF CENSURE UPON DISCIPLINE-
We must first premise that the church merely
defines and declares what is doctrine, and that her
decrees do not change, except respecting disci-
pline ; that doctrine is in its nature invariable, being
founded upon the constant revelation of scripture,
or upon universal and uninterrupted tradition ; that
discipline, on the other hand, is in its nature
variable, because, in the first place, it is founded
on human calculations, which may err ; because, in
the second place, wisdom and prudence, of which
legislators are not always possessed in abundance,
demand that it should be so ; and finally, because
it needs to be adapted to the circumstances of time,
CENSURE UPON DISCIPLINE. 97
place, and persons, which are perpetually changing.
That clerical celibacy is a matter of discipline,
has been manifest in what we have said, showing
it to be merely an ecclesiastical institution, although
this feature would not be changed in case it could
be proved apostolical. Let those who are scrupu-
lous, however, consult Burchard, bishop of Worms,
Richard,* Pius IV. ,t Selvagius,J Natal Alexan-
der,§ and even Bergier,|| and others who can not be
suspected.
I will repeat the words of* Richard for this rea-
son, that he is a most pertinacious defender of
celibacy. Here they are : " Discipline is essen-
tially variable, because it does not consist in things
necessary to salvation, or determined or revealed
in the Gospel, but in practices either indifferent in
themselves or not essentially necessary, and whose
utility depends upon times, persons, and nations.
Hence the same practices may be useful at one
time, in respect to a certain people, and useless,
or even prejudicial, at another time, in respect to
another people. For this reason, the decisions of
the church are not always the same upon the same
points of discipline ; and hence the difference
between the Latin and Greek churches, respecting
the administration of sacraments, celibacy of
priests, &c., &c. In order that a point in disci-
pline should be invariable, and a matter of faith, it
were necessary that it should have been revealed,
and believed as such by universal tradition." —
Treatise on Councils, chap. 17, Rule 4.
♦ See preceding note,
t V. Fieury continuation of Hist.
X Selv. Inst. can. e Antig. Eclez,
& Dissert, ad 4th cent. Hist. Eclez.
jj Art. Celib. Diction. Theolog.
9
98 CLERICAL CELIBACY
It is not only laAvful, but it is evidently a duty of
man, as a member of society and as a good Chris-
tian, to censure every species of legislation which
is found in contradiction with nature, and with the
objects for which it was instituted. Respect and
moderation, however, ought to direct in the analy-
sis of either injustice, imprudence, or inutility, in
the law which it is contemplated to abolish. But
censure freely exercised by the subjects, is the
peaceful and lawful means by which the lawgiver
may learn the imperfections of a law, and become
sufficiently enlightened to modify or revoke, accord-
ing to the exigence of circumstances.
To what but censure do we owe the extinction
of so many abuses in ecclesiastical discipline, so
many excesses of jurisdiction, and so many super-
stitions stealthily introduced into the worship of
God ? If public censure had not been prohibited —
if the tribunal of fire had not closed up the mouth
alike of the wise and the suffering — if popes had
not assumed the right of imposing silence by
means of their terrible anathemas, not only against
him who spake, but who even thought, in contra-
diction to their principles — if a shameful espion-
age had not been made the duty of every Roman
Catholic, who was obliged to denounce even his
own father, his own son, or the wife of his bosom,
to be immolated in the sacred fire which supersti-
tion kindled in the very heart of empires, and
which ought not to have been endured by those who
had the power to extinguish it — but for these
obstacles, the law of celibacy would not have been
perpetuated in the church as a source of continual
evil to society, individuals, and the church herself.*
* Note C, Appendix.
CENSURE UPON DISCIPLINE. 99
Meantime we owe to the efforts of nature con-
tending against the prejudices of education, the
exercise of that just censure which has put an
end to the celebrated ordeals denominated judg-
ments of God ; to the eucharist administered to
the dead ; to the persecution of the Jews ; to the
disastrous crusades ; to the abuse of indulgences ;
to the universal dominion of popes ; to the vener-
ation of false decretals; to the existence of the
holy office of the Inquisition, &c. &c.
But censure must still continue, in order that
the discipline of the church be further modified,
altered, and perfected ; so much the more in the
present day, since popes, fearing the omnipotence
of general councils, for three hundred years have
omitted to convoke any more, contrary to the ex-
press determination of said councils, to which
they are subordinate, and to which they owe a
filial obedience, as well as the rest of us Catho-
lics.
The church is not infallible, save when she de-
fines doctrines in theology and morals. As to
discipline, she may fail in prudence, and even tol-
erate things very difiicult to be justified. This
was asserted by the great Cano ; and the judi-
cious Fleury, in analyzing some usages in modern
discipline, remarks : " To all these things I see
no reply, unless it be compatible with good faith
to grant that in these matters, like all others, prac-
tice does not ahvays accord with right reason.
But it does not hence follow that we abandon our
principles, which we see plainly founded on scrip-
ture and the most wholesome traditions of anti-
100 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
quity."* The great theologian, James, of Paiva,
so much eulogized by the historians of the Council
of Trent, declared before that body, that councils
may err in matters of discipline, and not only so,
but they frequently decree things not the most
suitable.! Such is also the opinion of our own
Pereira,J and many others versed in the de-
crees of councils ;|| while St. Augustine himself
remarked the same thing in the 4th century. §
Let no one, therefore, deny us the use of a right
which to him who knows how to appreciate it,
becomes also a most important duty.
§13. THE DISCIPLINE OF THE CHURCH OF ROME
RESPECTING CLERICAL CELIBACY IS NOT PRU-
DENT.
It remains to examine whether the church does
right in insisting upon the celibacy of priests, as
a necessary condition of their being preserved in
their office, since this is her only proper preroga-
tive ; it having been shown that the power of
* Discours. 10., Hist. Eccl.
t Liv. 1, Def. Trid. Fid.
t Analise da Profisao da Fe. &c.
II In fact, if we should yield a blind obedience to councils,
Avhat would become of us, having before our eyes the anath-
ema of the council general of Constance, against those who
said that the decretals Avere false, and all the clergy who
studied them ?
In what state would civilization be found if we should im-
plicitly follow the decrees of councils, from the 7th century
to the Council of Trent ? Let those tell us, who have read
them, and who know the evils they have caused. The dark
ages in which they were held are a palliation to their errors,
and it is still to be wondered how Divine Providence could
preserve doctrine unharmed, in the midst of such ignorance.
$ Quis nescitipsa pleniora, saepe a posterioribus emendari,
id est, Conciliis. Liv. 2, C. 3 de bapt. cent. Don.
THE DISCIPLINE NOT PRUDENT. 101
rendering null their marriages, belongs exclusively
to temporal authority.
To desire that ministers of religion be perfect,
that is, that they may possess not only ordinary
virtues, but even such as may render them angelic,
is an excellent desire. It corresponds to the ad-
vice given by the Savior to all Christians, and es-
pecially to their ministers and spiritual guides.
But to determine by law that priests must be per-
fect, is an impracticable assumption, founded on
the mistaken notion that perfection is a natural
state, and hence may be common to an entire class.
It is to elevate an exception above a general rule ;
it is an imprudence calculated to make the yoke
of obedience heavy, salvation difficult, and human
life in many cases insupportable. It is a severity
which Jesus Christ, the author and founder of our
religion, did not exact, which the apostles did not
institute, and to which the church herself did not
assent, until the 4th century.
The discipline of celibacy would be tolerable,
if instead of being established by law it were left
to custom, and to the choice of the individual, as
was wisely done till the close of the third century.
Few evils would then result from it, and the
church would neither be destitute of upright min-
isters, nor would the weak be exposed to such
frequent occasions of stumbling. If it were per-
mitted to receive ministers from the class of men
who are married, the following results might be
expected. 1. The number of persons eligible to
the office would be infinitely increased, and there
would consequently be opportunity for a better
choice. 2. The church would be enabled to be
9*
102 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
severe in her examination of persons voluntarily
making vows of chastity, to know whether they
actually are examples of the perfection they pro-
fess. 3. She would not be obliged to avail her-
self of the ministerial services of young men, at
20 years of age, but might wait till they were ma-
ture ; that is, till at least 30 years ; the period at
which Christ commenced his divine mission, and
which, having been required by the ancient canons,
is doubtless necessary for the proper discharge of
functions so august as to demand that respect
which age united to virtue inspires. This could
not be secured at the present time, since those
men are very rare who would remain single till
30 years old, in order to enter the ministry, and
hence a great want of service would be experi-
enced. Thus one evil brings on another. 4. The
church would not then be under the necessity of
closing her eyes upon the concubinage of priests
(as the pious Gerson long since thought proper),
but might proceed against them with all the rigor
of canonical law ; might sift the wheat from the
chaff, preserve unspotted the honor and dignity of
the church, and promote the welfare and salvation
of an unworthy minister, by separating him from an
office for which he is not suitable, without how-
ever depriving him of the only means of remedy-
ing his misfortune.
Some friends, however, of the usages of our
church, perhaps prejudiced in favor of their anti-
quity, would prefer that we should return to the
discipline decreed, although very rarely practised,
between the 4th and 12th centuries ; that is, that
we should not aflmit to the ecclesiastical office
THE DISCIPLINE NOT PRUDENT. 103
married men who remained as such, but would
merely depose those priests who should marry,
without annulling their marriages. In fact, noth-
ing but a blind presumption, or a fanatical regard
for customs, of whose origin they are ignorant,
could discover to any, motives of preference in
favor of a discipline whose results we have al-
ready depicted. I confess, however, that this
choice would be that of a less evil, since at least
some priests would prefer matrimony to the honors
and conveniences conferred by the priesthood.
Nevertheless, the greater part would do as his-
torians inform us the priests did when Gregory
VII., displaying the whole rigor of his zeal,
obliged them to abandon either their churches or
their wives. Almost all, at first, feigned divorce,
and soon secretly, but afterward openly, presented
the heart-sickening spectacle of infidelity and of
scandal.*
Let us now forget, for a moment, all that has
been said, in order to suppose it necessary, or at
least of prime utility, that the priest be single, in
order to preserve himself (as St, Paul expresses
it), free from the cares of the world, not being
anxious to please his wife, &c. But by being free
from a wife may he not also have father, mother,
sisters, and, perhaps, children, to care for ? In
the present discipline under which priests are or-
* Sineius, early in the 5th century, refusing to accept a bish-
opric, said it was because he did not wish to visit his wife in
a secret manner, giving the semblance of adultery to what
was lawful. This seems to indicate that the greater share of
married priests practised on the principles to which he object-
ed, as the reiterated prohibitions of councils aimed at the
same thing.
104 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
dained with the title of a patrimony, are they not
nearly all employed in earning the means of sub-
sistence ? Are they not artists, teachers, or cul-
tivators, maintaining a great number of domestics
under their supervision ?
The judicious Fleury asks : " What is the care
of a family in comparison with that of a State ?
What is the attention due to a wife and five or six
children, and domestics in proportion, compared
to that necessary in the government of a hundred
thousand subjects ?" Now, beside the case of
many bishops who govern large countries, we
have the case of our most holy father the pope,
offering us the example of a monarch bishop,
ruling millions of men. But do none of these
things usurp those cares which ought to be ex-
clusively employed in the holy ministry ? Do
they not divide the heart of the priest, and dis-
qualify it for prayer? Is matrimony a sacrament
full of grace, and called for by the nature of man 1
Is this the only condition in life which incapaci-
tates man for the priesthood ? All know that it is
not. And it is not, if for no other reason, because
among the apostles there was only one, John, a
single man, and he was not the individual who
received the honor of the primacy, but Peter, who
was beyond question a married man. Again, it is
not, because the universal church, until the 4th
century, admitted to the priesthood married men,
who retained their wives, and the eastern church
to this day does the same ; while the western
church has approved of its conduct in this respect,
although she yet refuses to imitate it.
Let us proceed to another hypothesis, as though
THE DISCIPLINE NOT PRUDENT. 105
all the foregoing reasons were either specious or
futile. Is there any one who will pretend that
continence is practised by the greater portion of
the clergy ? Let us grant the very least, that one
hundredth part of the priests are incontinent.
Does not this proportion deserve the compassion
of the church ? Did not Christ, in his parable of
the good shepherd, show that in order to save a
single lost sheep he would often leave the ninety-
nine which were out of danger ?
Let the church, then, leave the ninety-nine
priests who, we will suppose, can remain conti-
nent or not, at their option, and if but a single one
is lost through the law of celibacy, let her revoke
that law.
The Hebrews were absolved from the natural
law, and permitted to have more than one wife,
but Christ declares that polygamy was suffered
among them by Moses, on account of the hard-
ness of their hearts.
Fifteen hundred years of experience prove the
impracticability of a pure celibacy in the greater
PART of the clergy. Let the church, then, grant
them matrimony, which at the very least, is not
opposed to the laws of nature.
St. Clement of Alexandria, and other fathers,
who regarded successive marriages as criminal,
nevertheless concede that St. Paul permitted them,
in view of human weakness. Let the church,
then, permit the marriage of priests, which is no
crime, in view of their notorious weakness ! For
this permission there is no need of indulgence ;
prudence and justice sufficiently demand it. Let
the church be governed by the advice of Paul,
106 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
when he spake by permission and not by com-
mandment ; and in imitation of him, at least grant
marriage to priests lest Satan tempt them to incon-
tinence.
Was it not St. Augustine who taught that the
severity of a law ought to he moderated, in order
that charity may apply a remedy to greater evils ?*
Did not Pope St. Simasius proclaim this max-
im .-f— It would be cruel to insist on the observ-
ance of a law, when that law has become preju-
dicial to the church ; because laws are made with
the design of preventing, not producing evil ?
Did not St. Bernard say, " nothing is more just
than a change, alteration, or omission of those
things which have been established through prin-
ciples of charity, when charity itself thus de-
mands?" J
And has not this been the course of the church
respecting many important laws, some of which
were dictated by the apostles themselves ?
Even in our own generation, have not Catholics
been absolved from the sanctification of a multi-
tude of holydays, which, during ages past, they
were obliged to keep holy by abstinence from
flesh, and a cessation of labor on said days 1^
* Ep. 151, apud. Grat. j Ep. ad avit.
X Lib. de Proc. e Discip.
^ An infinite number of the laws of the church have been
revoked, or suff'ered to fall into complete disuse. Without
mentioning many other examples in point, I will refer to
frugality at bishops' tables, which, from the two dishes limited
by several councils, is changed into sumptuous banquets.
Silks, gold, and precious stones, so often prohibited, have
become their common dress and ornaments. In fine, tlie sim-
plicity in their houses and furniture which so many councils
concerned themselves to perpetuate by appropriate canons,
has been changed into a degree of luxury, ill-becoming the
THE DISCIPLINE NOT PRUDENT. 107
1 will now, at the close of my observations,
submit the case of St. Paul, which, to every lover
of truth and justice, is more than sufficient tb prove
all that I have said respecting chastity. It is
detailed for our profit in the scriptures.
It having become necessary that there should
be some women in the church, set apart for the
catechism, instruction and assistance of other
women ; but this service being incompatible with
the subjection due to a husband, and the residence
necessary to a married woman in her own house,
with her family, St. Paul determined that for dea-
conesses should be chosen widows of one hus-
spirit of that religion of which they are the principal minis-
ters. Splendid palaces, a numerous train of servants, sump-
tuous carriages, &c., &c., are the example which the head of
the church and his cardinals give us of obedience to the canon-
ical laws enjoining Christian simplicity! But it is rejoined
that times have changed, and, in this respect, discipline must
change with them. Very well. Then the discipline requiring
celibacy is alone necessary to be eternally preserved? He
who fasts may receive more than one species of food ; the
penitent may be delivered from the rigor of penitential canons ;
the uncle may marry his niece, for in all these cases regard
must be had to human weakness ; we may omit to sanctify
the days of St. Philip. St. Lawrence, &c., in order to devote
them to labor, since experience has shown that such days are
generally spent in amusements, gaming, indolence, and crime ;
and in no one of these cases are the faithful ordered to beseech
Heaven to succor their weakness, and to exert themselves, since God
does not command impossibilities, but imparls tiis grace to those
xvho worthily seek it. The priest, however, alas for him ! can
not marry, although the experience of fifteen centuries has
proved the yoke of celibacy to be hard, and the law requiring
it to be the cause of concubinage, scandal, disgrace, and mis-
fortune, to persons unnumbered. All other laws may be abol-
ished ; their frequent transgression may be a sufficient pretext
for the legislator to revoke them, in order to avoid greater
evils ; but upon the law of cehbacy, notwithstanding its
public and constant violation, legislators must forever close
their eyes ! The Lord have mercy upon his church ! Vide
Appendix, note D.
108 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
band, honest, sober, &c., who should be sustained
at the expense of the churches which they served.
What followed ? In a short time the apostle
discovered a necessity of remedying the evil. He
says, 1. Tim. 5: 9-16: "Let not a widow be
taken into the number under threescore years old,
having been the wife of one man, well reported of
for good works," &c. " But the younger widows
refuse," &c. " I will, therefore, that the younger
women marry, bear children, guide the house, give
none occasion to the adversary to speak reproach-
fully ; for some are already turned aside after
Satan."* If, then, the church of Rome is unwil-
ling to revive the earliest and happiest ages of
Christianity, by the ordination of married men
possessed of the qualifications required by the
apostles, let her at least imitate the wisdom, pru-
dence, and charity of that inspired man, and admit
to the ecclesiastical office no more bachelors, until
they shall have at least arrived at the discreet age
of threescore years !
* What different prudence we have in these days ! Girls
and boys, at the age of sixteen years, are admitted to a pro-
fession of vows, in which they oblige themselves not only to
celibacy for life, but to blind obedience, rigorous poverty, and
an eternal imprisonment ! Which is the better discipline^
that instituted by St. Paul or by our modern canons ? Let the
results of each testify.
CONCLUSION. 109
CONCLUSION.
Having now demonstrated the right of the civil
authority to establish, modify, and revoke impedi-
ments to matrimony and the necessity of abolish-
ing the impediment of clerical orders, it would be
wrong to doubt for a moment that the General
Assembly of Brazil, either through mistaken cal-
culations of prudence, or regard to the prejudices
of certain individuals, who enjoy little or no con-
sideration in society, will hesitate in the discharge
of an important duty, and leave an honorable and
numerous class of citizens to suffer still longer the
deprivation of a right as sacred as it is essential
to the human race, a privation also which entails
unnumbered evils upon society itself.* It remains,
however, to show that, in an additional and indi-
rect manner, it belongs to the General Assembly
to restrain the discipline of clerical celibacy.
It is a doctrine current at the present day among
canonists themselves, that whenever an ecclesiasti-
cal law becoines injurious to society, it ceases to be
religious, and for this very reason the temporal au-
thority is bound to embarrass its execution.]
* Appendix, note E.
t Eybel. Intr. in Jus. Eccl. Cap. 6. There have occurred an
infinite number of examples of the exercise of this right, by
Catholic sovereigns ; who have sometimes vetoed bulls, some-
times prohibited their execution, and sometimes, in tine, de-
termined things contrary to ecclesiastical law. It will be
sufficient merely to compare the decrees of the Council of
Trent, which is accepted among us, with laws subsequently
enacted in opposition to it.
10
110 CLERICAL CELIBACY
Now it is certain, from the uninterrupted expe-
rience of fifteen centuries, that the law enjoining
celibacy has produced immorality in a class of
citizens charged with instructing the public in
moraUty and religion. For this cause their office,
beside being useless, becomes prejudicial, when-
ever the people find their conduct giving the lie to
their doctrines and precepts, immorality in society
being thus encouraged. Hence it follows, that it
is a duty of the General Assembly to remove
from these persons thus publicly employed, every
circumstance which renders them useless or in-
jurious to society.
Let us suppose now that the legislature should
revoke the impediment of clerical orders, but that
the church, although recognising the validity of
the marriage of priests, should still continue to
depose and even excommunicate them, it is evi-
dent that such a shock between the concessions
of temporal power and the punishments inflicted
by spiritual power would cause dissatisfaction,
party strife, and the disturbance of public quiet.
Therefore the General Assembly, in addition
to revoking the impediment of clerical orders,
not only could, but of right should, suspend the
benej)lacito to those papal laws which respect ce-
libacy, that they may henceforth have no more
force in the Empire of Brazil.*
* In view of all these considerations, no other resource is
left to the defenders of celibacy,* but that of perverting and
falsely interpreting the authors quoted, and in want of proof,
to seize the weapons of fanaticism and superstition, and
brand as heretics, infidels, and libertines, those who shall de-
clare in favor of my opinions. But I request the reader not
to rely either on my quotations nor those of my adversaries
' Appendix, Note F.
CONCLUSION. Ill
I have now redeemed my promise, I have satis-
fied my conscience, and have discharged a duty
imposed upon me by the nation, in hope of pro-
moting public happiness. I have fulfilled one of
the most important obligations of the Christian
minister, by exposing the inconveniences of a law
which does so much to prejudice the interests of
religion itself.
Let others now say what they please. They
may show that I have erred, but they can not,
without calumny, impeach my good intentions.
I will conclude this demonstration by a pro-
fession of the doctrine of the Council of Gangres.
" We admire virginity united to humility ; we ap-
prove of continence practised with piety and grav-
ity ; we respect the matrimonial union as honor-
able ; and, in a word, we desire the church to
practise what is taught in the sacred scriptures
and apostolic traditions."
but to examine with his own eyes the references made and the
contexts of the authors. Then let him decide upon the sin-
cerity Eind good faith of those with whom this question is con-
tested.
APPENDIX.
NOTE A, p. 48.
Dispensations, apostolic graces, &c.
The Despertador, a daily paper of Rio de Ja-
neiro, on the 14th of March, 1840, published the
following article of correspondence, which is trans-
lated to show into whose hands the power of grant-
ing dispensations was held at so late a period of
the 1 9th century, and how graciously it was used : —
" Mr. Editor : — Nurtured in the bosom of the
Catholic church, in which, by the grace of God,
I hope to live and die, I have been hitherto unwil-
ling to credit the general clamor which, for a long
time, has been in universal circulation against the
scandalous simony practised by the pontifical
legate, resident at this court, in the concession of
apostolic graces and dispensations.
" Being employed, however, to solicit the dispen-
sation of a matrimonial impediment, in favor of a
Brazilian artist of low circumstances, I suffered
the consequences of my incredulity, having the
greatest difficulty to secure" the brief of dispensa-
tion for less than one hundred and fifty milreis !
(about $100).
10*
114 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
" I became astonished and amazed, on reflecting
what riches must accrue to the Abbot Fabrini
(then Charge cf Affaires, now Internuncio, of his
holiness at the imperial court of Brazil), from the
humiliation or the ignorance with which our pres-
ent bishops renounce for his benefit the power
confided to them by Jesus Christ, and which their
predecessors have always used in its plenitude.
" I ought not to pass over in silence the cautious-
ness used by the chancellor, or whoever acts as
secretary to the legation, in refusing to pass a
receipt for the sum received, as is always practised
in the ecclesiastical chambers, to furnish the agent
with a voucher. Was it because such monies did
not belong to the perquisites of any one, but were
to be deposited in the coffers of charity for the
aid of indigent Brazilians ? In this case the poor
have a prospect of dying with hunger ; meanwhile,
this most illustrious delegate from Rome is growing
rich and leading a sumptuous life.
"An Ecclesiastic."
Dispensations for the use of flesh during Lent,
and on fast days, are still granted by the bishops,
and by the wholesale ; it being generally under-
stood that the Brazilians will not be bound by the
rules of the Roman church in this particular. An
instance occurred in ] 839, in which a six years'
dispensation having terminated, the legislature of
the province embraced by the diocese conde-
scended to go through the formality of requesting
his reverence the bishop to grant another similar
one, which he accordingly did.
APPENDIX. 115
NOTE B, p. 57.
" He is convicted of nefarious sacrilege every time he
exercises a ministry polluted with such a crime."
What more humiliating picture of the depravity
of man could possibly be drawn ? The reader
may be assured it is no fancy sketch. He will
perceive that this essay was not designed to fur-
nish statistics respecting clerical immorality, but
that, nevertheless, this subject is continually ap-
pealed to, as one well understood and of portentous
signification. The author deemed it necessary to
establish general principles ; particular cases of
their exemplification were familiar to the minds of
all. When we regard the heinousness of this
species of guilt in but a single case, it is sufficient
to fill the mind with disgust and horror. What
language, then, can portray the "abomination"
of that moral " desolation " which must naturally
result when the character here described is not
uncommon
It is not necessary for me to add anything to
the assertions of the author, but I ought, perhaps,
to illustrate the deep meaning of some of his
expressions, which might otherwise be taken by
some as vague and declamatory. Let it then be
recollected that this sober production was espe-
cially addressed to a body of legislators, including
bishops and priests, beside the author, who, of
course, would be able, as well as interested, to
repel any false statements or conclusions respect-
ing the class to which they belonged, and we may
better estimate the force of many of the sweeping
charges here made.
116 CLEUICAL CELIBACY.
E. g. p. 64. Is there any one ivho unll pretend that
continence is practised by the greater portion of the
clergy 1
Again, p. 63, among the advantages anticipated
from admitting married men to orders are these :
" 2. The church would be enabled to be severe in her
examination of persons voluntarily making vows of
chastity, to know whether they actually are examples
of the perfection they profess^
" 4. The church loould not then be obliged to close
her eyes upon the concubinage of priests, ^'' &c.
There was a notorious case, in which the vicar
of a parish had the hardihood to apply to a legis-
lative body for an especial act to legitimatize some
eight or ten of his children, so that they might
inherit his property ! I understood said act was
granted. One of the most melancholy views of
this subject is that which exhibits the effect of
such conduct on the public mind. When practised
by spiritual guides, men supposed to be in especial
favor with Heaven, the most revolting sins, if not
hallowed, become at least stripped of their enor-
mity, and rendered worthy of extenuation in the
eyes of the people.
NOTE C, p. 98.
"If the tribunal of fire had not closed up the mouths
alike of the wise and the suffering — if popes had not
assumed the right of imposing silence by means of their
terrible anathemas — if a shameful espionage had not been
made the duty of every Roman Catholic, who was obliged
to denounce," &c. — " the law of celibacy would not have
been perpetuated in the church, as a source of continual
evil to society, individuals, and tlie church herself."
What Roman Catholic among us dare say as
much ? Perhaps in no country where Roman
APPENDIX. 117
Catholicism is the reUgiori of the state, does there
prevail more liberality of sentiment on many points
connected with the doctrines and polity of that
church, than in Brazil ; while it certainly exceeds
that found among Catholics in several countries
where that church is not predominant. The pres-
ent translation is proof in point ; and also a prop-
osition subsequently introduced by the author,
Feijo, to the National Legislature to provide for
the civilization and christianization of the Indian
tribes of the interior of Brazil, by means of Mo-
ravian missionaries. It may also be inferred, from
the statement made by a very intelligent citizen of
the country, viz : that " among the community at
large there prevails no manner of prejudice against
reading the scriptures in the vulgar tongue." The
writer is acquainted with many facts which cor-
roborate this statement, so much in contrast with
what is true of the great body of Catholics in the
United States, and the countries from which they
chietly emigrated.
NOTE D, p. 107.
" We may omit to sanctifj^ the days of St. Philip,
St. Lawrence," «Stc.
Thirty-six days of the year, in addition to the
Sabbaths, were formerly observed in Brazil as
close holydays, by cessation from labor, public
business, &c. For the reasons hinted at in the
author's note, thirteen of them have now been
abolished or dispensed, and thus become like other
secular days, save that the precept requiring the
faithful to hear mass in the mornmg is considered
118 CLERICAL CELIBACY
binding by the church, although very little attended
to by the people. These days are familiarly
denominated half-holydays — dias santos de meia
cara, &c. The remark of the author respecting
amusements, gaming, and indolence, is probably
still quite too true, both of the close holydays and
Sundays.
NOTE F, p. 110.
The defenders of clerical celibacy.
We find reference, both in the preface and at
the close of this work, to the opposition which the
author knew full well its sentiments would call
forth. The only individuals known to have at-
tempted written answers to them, were the Arch-
bishop of Bahia, and a Portuguese priest by the
name of Luiz Gonsalves dos Santos.
The latter published a work four or five times
larger than the Demonstration, entitled, " Defence
of Clerical Celibacy againt the separate report of
Padre Feijo.^^ It was met by a pamphlet of nine-
teen pages, under the title of a " Reply to the
nonsense, absurdities, impieties, and self-contra-
dictions of the Padre L. G. dos Santos, in his
pretended defence of clerical celibacy." A few
paragraphs from this reply deserve to be preserved
in this connexion. It is addressed in the form of
a letter to his opponent, and commences thus : —
"Reverend Sir: — Before replying to the non-
sense and absurdities with which your work
abounds, in attempting to defend clerical celibacy
against all the principles of propriety, justice, and
APPENDIX. 119
morality, I wish to comply with your request to
present the title by which I am ' constituted advo-
cate in behalf of the clergy of Brazil, and author-
ized to make a separate Report, embracing a
project which no priest has requested me to ad-
vance.'
" Ask the Chamber of Deputies for the proper
certificates, and you will ascertain what number of
constituents sent me as a member of the General
Assembly of Brazil. Then giving yourself the
trouble to read the political constitution of the em-
pire you will learn my rights and obligations to
propose whatever I judge necessary to the hap-
piness of its citizens. Among those citizens are
all our numerous ecclesiastics, unless indeed we
except the ultramontanists and papists who obey
the Bishop of Rome as their lord and master, and
think him authorized to give laws to sovereigns
on subjects within their exclusive jurisdiction."
" Good reason have the clergy to demand who
made you their advocate, and authorized you to un-
dertake the defence of celibacy. Are you igno-
rant that the Committee of the House of Deputies
on Ecclesiastical Affairs, has four members be-
side myself, viz., two priests, one bishop, and one
bachelor in canons ? These gentlemen, if they
differ from my opinions, may at a proper time
present theirs.
" Does your pride or your pharisaical zeal carry
you to such an extent as to desire to take the lead
of them and instruct them ? Or if you could not
be content to wait for their report, would it not
have been better to transfer the task you have un-
dertaken to some abler pen ; to some less intoler-
120 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
ant spirit, who although without reason, might yet
with dignity, manage arguments already stale, so
as not to insult others, nor bring discredit upon
religion itself, in the way you do.
" It is a painful task to reply to nonsense and
absurdities which are palpable to all who read and
reflect on them : but since you have had the ad-
dress to bring into use the weapons belonging to
ignorance, fanaticism, and a perverse heart, show-
ering in every page of your work the epithets,
libertines, debauchees, impious, &c., upon those
who are so happy as to see, hear, and know a lit-
tle more than yourself, it becomes necessary for
me to dismask you, in order that the unwary peo-
ple may not be persuaded that your criminal ani-
mosity to attack my opinion, results either from
your sincere convictions or from the justice of the
cause you assume to defend."
It does not appear that the facts alleged by our
author were at all questioned. The proposition
of his opponent was as follows : " Clerical celib-
acy is of apostolic institution, as the church al-
ways has taught, as the councils have defined it,
and -as the popes have declared it, against inno-
vators, Greek schismatics, heretics, libertines,"
&c. The discussion would, of course, lead into
the endless mazes of fathers, traditions, and can-
ons, and it is unnecessary to follow our author in
his refutation of the arguments brought to sustain
his propositions. It is sufficient to say, that after
tracking out all his sophistical windings in the
labyrinth of Roman authorities, he proceeds :— ^
" Tell me then, sir, who is the wicked man and
libertine, he who opposes the doctrines of the
APPENDIX. 121
apostles, the opinions of the holy fathers, and
the practices of the church, or he who sustains
them, and insists upon their restoration ? Who
has most zeal for religion and charity for his
brethren, he that desires to see the ministers of
religion irreprehensible and free from a law which
occasions immorality among them, brings them
into discredit and disesteem, and finally conducts
them to perdition ; or he who is stupidly satisfied
with the formality of celibacy, insensible to the
disgrace of his brethren, to the scandal heaped
upon religion, to the uselessness of her ministers,
and who, overflowing with fanatical zeal, vocifer-
ates to this eflect 1 —
' Our priests were ordained with the conditiun of
their remaining continent ; whether they are or not,
whether they can he or not, no matter ; let them suffer,
let them strive in vain with their weakness ; since
they have been imprudent and deceived themselves
respecting the possibility of fulfilling their promise,
they must at any rate die bachelors, be the conse-
quences what they may /'
******
" You say, moreover, that the Greek and protes-
tant clergy live in profound misery on account of
being married. Here is another perversion of
truth. When an effect may be traced to several
causes, it is necessary to discover the one which
is real. But it ought to be known that the Greek
protestant clergy are not poorer than the Roman,
whom we have often seen begging. We can even
affirm that we know some (among the latter) who
might live in a very respectable style if they had
lawful wives to keep them from the prodigalities
11
122 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
into which weakness and passion plunge them.
What you ought to confess, even to our shame, is
the morality of the protestant clergy. In fact,
since they offer us the interesting example of so
many moral virtues, when destitute of the grace
of Christ, being out of the true church, and, per-
haps, merely because matrimony is open to them,
what prodigies of holiness ought we not to present
if we had equal liberty and were assisted by the
grace of God !"
" Forgetful that your book constitutes a perfect
lihel, and that by the expressions with which you
have so charitably honored your brethren you
have declared yourself hostile to religion itself,
since that commands you to love even your ene-
mies, and not call them debauchees^ epicures, wolves
of Satan, waymarks to hell, atheists, <fcc., &c. ;
strange to tell, you all at once become inflamed
with charity for a poor weak cardinal, whose
name I concealed for decency's sake. In order
to defend him, you do not hesitate to pronounce
me a calumniator. Why ? Merely because I did
not give my authority for the fact. Well, then, to
satisfy your curiosity, I will give you the names
of four authors for your consultation — Hovedin,
Huntingdon, Paris, Wertin.
" If you are afraid to read these, and continue
obstinately to affirm that such conduct is impossi-
ble or impracticable to so high a character, you
may choose as his substitute either one among
six or seven of their holinesses who have proved
by their public example the necessity of abolish-
ing the law requiring celibacy in the clergy. If
you do not know the names of these popes I Avill
APPENDIX. 123
tell you what they are, and refer to authors that
you may without scruple consult."
" Must my report, then, like Pandora's box, be
pent up for the sake of the country ? No, sir; my
exposition of this subject was designed to enlighten
the public mind, and to promote the solid virtues of
community by means of a measure which the
peoj)le themselves desire, in view of the scandals
to which they are witness ; at the same time it
was designed to confound the ignorance and fanat-
icism of those who meddle with subjects which
they confessedly do not understand. Your book
is the torch of discord, which has no other object
than that of creating fanaticism, and disseminating
in society the spirit of persecution. But you are
deceived ; the world is already tired of seeing
human blood spilled for the sake of enslaving
consciences.
" You may rage, become furious, and despair,
but you will die confounded, and never see the
fires of the holy office kindled, nor the thunders
of the Vatican fulminated against one who respects
the primacy of St. Peter, and the doctrines and
morality of the Catholic religion. But I have
said enough. The intelligent will form a correct
judgment of the merits of the question, and the
unlearned but sincere people will discover, from
the insults and calumnies of your book, who it is
that is like to bring down the maledictions of
heaven upon Brazil. Whether it is myself, by
endeavoring to lessen crime, to restore to humanity
its rights, and to the clergy the esteem and consid-
eration which they ought to possess ; or whether
it is you, notwithstanding your boasted zeal for re-
124 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
ligion, by cursing your neighbor, tolerating con-
cubinage, and resting satisfied with the hypocrisy
of some, the imposture of others, and the scandal
of many !"
The above extracts exhibit something of the
character as well as the logic of our author's
principal opponent. It will not be irrelevant to
add that this same priest, Luiz Gonsalves dos San-
tos, has perhaps equally distinguished himself in
several recent publications against protestantism,
aimed especially at the protestant missionaries
resident at Rio de Janeiro. The principal work
was dedicated to Fabrini, the pope's amljassador,
of whom mention is made in Note A. It presents
nearly 200 pages octavo, principally occupied in
attempting to refute the well-known tract, " The
Protestant Religion No Novelty,'^ consisting barely
of 4 pages, 12mo. !
NOTE E, p. 109.
" It would be wrong to doubt that the General Assembly
of Brazil will not hesitate in the discharge of an important
duty," &c.
Notwithstanding the convincing arguments of
our author, and his sanguine anticipations that the
General Assembly would give heed to them, yet
he was doomed to experience disappointment in
the defeat of his measure. His subsequent elec-
tion to the highest office within the gift of the
nation, proves that it could have been through no
want or loss of personal influence.
It is not necessary, however, to assign reasons
why this was the result of so bold and high-
APPENDIX. 125
handed an attempt at reform, especially when we
reflect what an alarm would be excited by it,
throughout the entire dominions of the pope, and
what numberless influences the See of Rome
could bring to bear upon a Catholic nation, just
emerging into civil liberty, and still embarrassed
with pending war.
Clerical celibacy, with its wretched consequen-
ces, as portrayed in this work, is still retained in
Brazil, and it is not known that another attempt to
abolish it will soon, if ever be made. Those who
have exerted themselves unsuccessfully in behalf
of reform seem to have become disheartened. The
ex-regent himself is believed to experience this
sentiment to no small degree. He once remarked
to the writer, respecting his brethren of the priest-
hood, that " they neither wish to introduce improve-
ments themselves, nor will they suffer others to do
so."
It may not be uninteresting to the reader to
have an authentic statement of the especial reason
why the Roman church so pertinaciously adheres
to the policy of requiring a formal celibacy in her
clergy, in defiance of the claims of justice, hu*
manity, and religion.
The following is translated from a standard
theological work, entitled, " Compendium of Mor-
al Theology, for the use of the Seminary of
Oli?ida, by the Padre Manoel do Monte Rode-
rigues d' Araujo, Professor of Moral Theology in
said Institution." 2 vols. Pernambuco, 1837. It
is a scholium upon ^1172, sec VI., on Orders:
" The marriage of priests would be accompanied
with very serious hazard of the peace and secU'
11*
126 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
rity of families. A Catholic priest would have
many means of seducing, if he could hope to ar-
rive at the end of seduction through a lawful mar-
riage. Under the pretext of directing the con-
science, he might corrupt and gain the heart, turn-
ing to his private advantage the influence which
his ministry gives him solely for the benefit of re-
ligion. Were we to abolish the celibacy of priests,
as a necessary consequence sacramental con-
fession would be abolished also. This was the
result in the reformed church, and for this object
the same measure was proposed in France, about
the time of the revolution." V. Gregoire Histoire
du Mariage des Pretres. Chap. 8.
It is idle to argue this question. I will only
remark what is well known in Brazil, viz., that
this class of men, although prohibited lawful
marriage, have so " many means of seduction,"
that a large proportion of the more respectable
families peremptorily guard their daughters from
any approach to the confessional.
The following paragraph from the text of the
same standard luork, is subjoined as a specimen
of the facts on the ground of which clerical celib-
acy is advocated : —
" 4th Objection. — The example of the reformed
(protestant) clergy, who are married. Ans. —
This is a miserable objection, and those who make
it must either do so through ignorance or bad
faith. 1st. Ignorantly, because there intervenes an
immense distance between the Roman Catholic
priesthood and the protestant ministry. The
protestants have no sacrifice, no altar, and no
priesthood, except that which is lay, ignoble, and
APPENDIX, 127
merely external, and consequently no reasons for
continence, not even those which prevailed with
the Levites at the time of their ministrations.
Not so with Catholics, who offer and partake of
the Immaculate Lamb, who have part in mysteries
that would be tremendous even to angels.
" Protestant pastors have their functions limited
to preaching, presiding at public worship on the
Sabbath, and celebrating the Supper a few times
per year, nothing more ; while Roman Catholic
pastors, beside preaching and presiding at public
prayers longer and more frequently, have to go
through with mass, and the service of the breviary,
every day ; to attend on confessions, to administer
the sacraments, and perform other functions
enumerated in ^1157. How, then, can they dis-
charge, in addition to all these duties, those of a
family ? 2d. Insincerely ; because it is known
that the people have little or no respect for the
reformed clergy ; their misery is frightful. Their
daughters are those who populate places of pros-
titution, and they themselves are not exempt from
ttie license of theatrical performances, and when
one of them is introduced upon the stage it is to
personate the fool or the drunkard !"
A part of the above falsehoods are repeated in a
pamphlet written by the Archbishop of Bahia, in
an impotent effort to refute the arguments of
Feijo.
I intended to comment upon that production of
the Primate of Brazil, against our author ; but hav-
ing perused and reperused it, I find that the para-
graph containing the miserable slanders just de-
tailed, in order that they might refute themselves,
128 CLERICAL CELIBACY.
is the only one marked as worthy of especial
notice.
It is needless to multiply remarks upon a work
having such a perfect unity of design, and so much
point in its language, as that which I have now
translated. I will therefore take leave of the
reader by expressing to him the opinion, that what-
ever effect the perusal of this book may have
upon the minds of protestants, it is capable of ex-
erting a powerful influence upon any Roman Cath-
olic community in which it may be read.
I therefore look forward with interest to the day
when it shall be freely circulated in several impor-
t£int countries of Europe.
THE END.
SORIN&BALLi
JVo. 311 JflJlRKET STREET,
Would invite the attention of the Ministry and
all Biblical Students to their following
list of
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OCCASIONS,
BY ROBERT SOUTH, B.D.,
Prebendary of Westminster, and Canon of Christ Church, Oxford.
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This is the only complete edition of Dr. South; it
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Opinions of eminent Divines respecting the Sermons
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*' Let those that please, be enraptured at the pretty,
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and illustrated in these Sermons; which might be fitly
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and Journal.
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Protestant Banner.
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RHODA, or THE EXCELLENCE OF CHARITY.
CHRISTIAN TREASURE OPENED.
AUNT xMARY'S VISIT: Illustrated; a new Sunday
School book.
HERVEY'S MEDITATIONS: Illustrated.
HEMANS'S POEMS: Illustrated with Steel Plate en-
gravings.
S, 8^ B. would also invite attention to their general
as sortment of Theological works.
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