Cardinal Robert Sarah: The Christian Priesthood Is in Mortal Danger

Photo Source: Cardinal Robert Sarah's Facebook

In an exclusive English language interview, Cardinal Robert Sarah  discusses about his new book, From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy, and the Crisis of the Catholic Church and warned against relaxing the mandatory celibacy rules for priests saying that this would turn the Church into a "mere human institution." According to Cardinal Sarah, "Celibacy is the most obvious manifestation that the priest belongs to Christ and that he no longer belongs to himself. Celibacy is the sign of a life that has meaning only through God and for Him. To want to ordain married men is to imply that priestly life is not full time, that it does not require a complete gift, that it leaves one free for other commitments such a profession, that it leaves time free for a private life. But this is false. A priest remains a priest at all times. Priestly ordination is not first of all a generous commitment; it is a consecration of our whole being, an indelible conformation of our soul to Christ, the priest, who demands from us permanent conversion in order to correspond to him. Celibacy is the unquestionable sign that being a priest supposes allowing oneself to be entirely possessed by God. To call it into question would seriously aggravate the crisis of the priesthood." Cardinal Sarah emphasizes that "If a priest is married, then he has a private life, a conjugal and family life. He must make time for his wife and children. He is unable to show, by his whole life, that he is totally and absolutely given to God and the Church."

What a beautiful defense of celibacy! Needless to say, ordaining married men would only turn the Catholic priesthood into a career option for jobless men and those seeking for greener pastures so that they could provide well for their wife and children. If priestly life is not full time, this would mean that the priest can start his own direct selling business (with the help of his wife) such as selling insurance, household items, cosmetics and personal care products, supplements and nutritional products, clothing, accessories, gifts, books, toys, games, etc.. They can even open their own shops or become real estate agents and make lots of money through commissions. Since many Church members still feel that if they buy things from the pastor, they are doing God a favor, these pastors can become rich in no time and enjoy the best of all worlds. With a family to support, money is never enough, so we can't blame them as it is the dream of every married man to make as much money as he can and give his best to his family. With money, he can buy jewelries and Birkin bags to pamper his wife, give his children the best education, and take his family to their dream vacation destinations every year. For a family man, it is always 'family first' and his main responsibility is to ensure that his wife and children live a comfortable life. And of course this would mean that his "priesthood job" would come second or even third in his life (if he is doing very well in his business at the expense of the Church). With a family to take care of, he would also need lots of free time for his private life so it is also reasonable for him to refuse to work after office hours. After all, his wife may not like it if he does not join the family for dinner and he needs to spend time with his children in the evenings to check their homework. Well, for  a married man, spending time with his family is certainly more important than his "job" and we can't blame him for that. Under such circumstances, can a married priest still remain a priest at all times and show, by his whole life, that he is totally and absolutely given to God and the Church? In his book, From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy, and the Crisis of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI points out that "priesthood and marriage are not compatible because they both demand an absolute and total gift." Needless to say, a married priest cannot belong entirely to Christ and the Church because he belongs to his wife and children. He cannot 'work full time' because his 'job' cannot fit in with his family commitments. He cannot allow himself to be entirely possessed by God because his wife and children are more important to him than his 'job'. As a husband and father, he has to give himself totally and absolutely to his family!

Here, I would like to provide an example of how a married pastor treats his biological children differently from his "stepchildren" in the orphanage run by his Church. Some of my students come from this orphanage as it is near the school. Although already in their teens, they are much smaller than other children their age. What causes stunted growth? One cannot deny the fact that the most direct cause is inadequate nutrition. These children are also very weak in their studies. One day, when I asked them to write an essay about a birthday party, I had no choice but to write the whole essay on the board with some blanks for them to write about their favorite foods. But, even filling in the blanks seemed to be too difficult for them. For instance, one of them asked me how to say "pisang" in English. When I told her that "pisang" is "banana", she then asked me to spell the word "banana" for her. This was repeated until she filled in all the blanks. The other children from the home are not much better than her but they are all hardworking children (They are already 15 and would be sitting for their Form 3 Examination in a few months time but look more like primary school children). A few of them even said they wanted to run away from the orphanage. The question which arises here is - Would the pastor treat his own biological children in the same way he treats the children in the home? Of course not. His biological children must be given the best of everything. They must have nutritious food, a comfortable life, the best education and parental love because they are the pastor's own flesh and blood. He must put his family above everything and this, of course, is perfectly normal because he is a married man. "I begin to see how true it is that God shows no partiality" (Acts 10:34) but pastors do. If you are interested to know what pastors can do to other people's children, please read Anas exposes Pastor who compels kids to eat poop at his orphanage; Torture Home (3): When Reverend Lamina steals food for orphans; & Feds: Chicago Pastor Stole From Food Program for Needy Kids. Well, do you think they will ask their own biological children to eat poop and bread that had visibly gone bad? Do you think they will sodomize their own children? In a way, these articles also remind us that the things donated to an orphanage may end up in the pastor's shop!

As what our dear Pope Emeritus says, "If we separate celibacy from the priesthood, we will no longer see the charismatic character of the priesthood. We will only see a function that the institution itself provides for its own security and needs. If we want to take the priesthood in this light... the Church is no longer understood except as a mere human institution." And of course this human institution can easily turn into a profit making institution for married men who want to provide well for their family. One certainly cannot deny the fact that there are many out there waiting to profit from this human institution should it become a reality. When this happens, the charismatic character of the priesthood will be eroded by materialism and carnal pleasure. As such there will be no difference between the priests and all the Toms, Dicks, and Harrys on the streets as all these married men have the same purpose - find a good job, make as much money as they can, and provide well for their family. That is why Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI affirms that "without the renunciation of material goods, there can be no priesthood. The call to follow Jesus is not possible without this sign of freedom and renunciation of all compromises." What will happen when the pastors cannot renounce material goods? To answer this question, please read Beware of Greedy, Selfish and Money-Hungry Pastors. This article clearly shows how pastors can make a lot of money from their human institution to satisfy their needs. It is no wonder why there are people trying to delegitimize Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Cardinal Robert Sarah's new book!

According to Cardinal Sarah, "The Church does not belong to us; she is a gift of God. She perpetuates herself through the ministry of priests, who are also a gift of God and not a human creation. Each priest is the fruit of a vocation, of a personal and intimate call from God Himself. One does not decide by oneself to become a priest. One is called by God, and the Church confirms this call. Celibacy guarantees this call. A man can only renounce starting a family and having a sexual life if he is certain that God is calling him to this renunciation. Our priesthood hangs on God's call and on the Church's prayer for vocations." How right he is! Priesthood is a vocation and not an occupation for the jobless men on the streets. It is not a magic money tree for selfish, greedy, and money-hungry men. Those who willingly renounce sex and marriage to become priests are called by God and these are the priests we are proud to have - a rare treasure from God, so valuable, and precious. They do not have any ulterior motives as their heart is made for love and we can feel their selfless love. This was clearly pointed out by Cardinal Sarah when he said, "The poor, the simple, rank-and-file Christians do not demand an end to celibacy! They expect priests to be saints, to be entirely given to God and His Church. They expect celibate priests who incarnate among them the figure of Christ, spouse of the Church." I totally agree with him because each time I meet a celibate priest, I couldn't help feeling that he is another Christ - so saintly and full of goodness, one who really deserves our love and respect. I always feel that celibate priests are heroes because they have given themselves entirely to God and His Church so that they can serve us wholeheartedly. Truly, the celibate priesthood is A VOCATION HIGHER THAN ANGELS and celibate priests are our UNSUNG HEROES. (Please click on these titles to read more about the vocation that places on our priests the heavy demands of Christ's life). On the contrary, those who want to become priests because they want to have the best of all worlds - a wife, children, and a respectable 'job' with lots of money flowing from it are not called by God but by their own selfish desires. Of course we cannot blame those who are pursuing a secure job with a good salary particularly during these hard times but to be frank, I don't feel anything when I meet this kind of pastor.

In this interview, Cardinal Robert Sarah also shared his experience as a young priest at the beginning of 1976 when he was serving the remote villages in Guinea. According to him, "Some of them had not been visited by a priest for almost 10 years, because the European missionaries had been expelled in 1967 by Sekou Toure. The catechists continued to teach the catechism to the children and to recite the prayers of the day. They recited the Rosary. They met on Sundays to listen to the word of God. I had the grace to meet  these men and women who kept the faith without any sacramental support, for lack of priests. I never forget their unimaginable joy when I celebrated the Mass that they had not known for so long. I believed that if married men had been ordained in every village, the Eucharistic hunger of the faithful would have been extinguished. The people would have been cut off from the joy of receiving, in the priest, another Christ. Yes, with the instinct of faith, the poor know that a priest who has renounced marriage gives them the gift of all his love as a husband." What a beautiful experience to witness another Christ in the priest, one who has renounced earthly things and marriage to serve the faithful! That is why the Catholic priesthood is so special. If I were there, I would have burst into tears of joy as I witnessed the love of Christ through him - a hero who has given himself entirely to Jesus Christ. However, I believe the feelings could never be the same if what the congregation saw was just another Tom, Dick, or Harry on the streets, a family man, like the men in their villages, who was just doing his 'job' - a job that provides him with an income to support his wife and children. The faithful who expect priests to be entirely given to God and His Church, certainly cannot experience the kind of  unimaginable joy and Eucharistic hunger mentioned by Cardinal Robert Sarah (above) in the presence of a family man priest. Of course there is nothing wrong with wanting to get a job where he can make money but there is nothing special about this kind of man. If his intention is to earn a good salary and enjoy a measure of job security so as to make life more comfortable for his family, he is nothing more than a church employee who is paid a salary!

You can read the full interview at National Catholic Register. If you like this article, you may also like to read WHY POPE BENEDICT XVI CLARIFIES, REAFFIRMS, REINFORCES AND DEFENDS CELIBACY? To view the content page of this blog, please click here.



References:

1. Cardinal Sarah: The Priesthood Today 'Is in Mortal Danger', National Catholic Register.
2.  The New American Bible. New York: Thomas Nelson Publishers.