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| | Why Not Married Priests? The Case for Clerical Celibacy |
 | | The early Church Fathers ; Tertullian, Augustine, Ambrose, Jerome, and Hilary wrote in favor of clerical celibacy, and at the end of the Dark Ages, great reforming popes like Leo IX and Gregory VII insisted that henceforth the priesthood would be celibate. |
 | | The exaltation of celibacy does not in any way denigrate marriage....Those who live celibately are, in effect, "skipping" the sacrament in anticipation of the ultimate reality, the "Marriage of the Lamb." They are an "eschatological sign" for the rest of us. |
 | | Obviously, not all married clergymen are like this, but clerical marriages have their special difficulties, and, unlike 130 years ago, when Butler wrote his novel, there is now the possibility of divorce. |
| catholiceducation.org /articles/facts/fm0054.html (3206 words) |
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