(17 Nov. 2006) : In a short statement released Thursday at the conclusion of Pope
Benedict XVI’s three hour meeting with the heads of the decasteries of the Roman Curia,
the Church confirmed her adherence to the discipline of priestly celibacy for Latin
Rite priests. The statement revealed that Participants in the meeting received detailed
information on petitions for dispensation from the obligation of celibacy presented
in recent years and on the possibility of readmission, to the exercise of the ministry,
of priests who at present meet the conditions established by the Church.
The
value was reaffirmed of the option for priestly celibacy, according to the Catholic
tradition, and the need was confirmed for a solid human and Christian formation for
seminarians as well as for already ordained priests," the statement said. Catholic
priests of the Latin Rite promise to be celibate, unmarried and chaste for life. While
the celibacy requirement is considered a discipline, the Church has consistently held
that it is an important rule, which will not be changed.
According to data
from the Vatican Congregation for Clergy, every year about 1,000 priests leave the
priestly ministry. The congregation also published data on priests who have returned
to priestly ministry between 1970 and 1995. They undergo a rigorous procedure, carried
out case by case. Their number varies greatly from one year to another. In those years,
a total of 9,551 priests have returned.