Priest celibacy

To the Editor:

I'm writing this letter in response to Sue Mroz's editorial about the celibate priesthood and also in response to that despicable cartoon this paper selected to display.

Sue is confusing Catholic teaching or dogma with church discipline. Church discipline can be changed because it is manmade, but not church dogma, which is from Divine Revelation and Sacred Tradition, that is, God Himself.

The Roman Rite of the Catholic Church has chosen to stay with the discipline of celibate priests because it follows the example of Jesus Himself and over time has proven best for the church and its people. We must keep in mind that the priesthood is a spiritual calling, not a profession. It is a sacrifice a priest freely chooses in order to serve God and His church. It is a holy calling and the priest's job is to help us get to Heaven through his ministry of the sacraments, Holy Mass, and his teaching. Just as in marriage, a man gives up himself for his bride and family, so too a priest gives up himself for the church, the people, and God. Many of the holiest and influential men and women of history were celibate; like St. John the Baptist, St. Paul, Archbishop Sheen, Mother Theresa, and Pope John Paul II, to name just a few.

Anger welled up inside me when I saw that loathsome and unjustified cartoon displayed in that editorial implying the condemnation of the whole church for the failures of a few. The Review had to search diligently in order to find it. Naturally, my first reaction was to cancel my subscription and to campaign others to do likewise. It saddened me to think that my local newspaper could sink this low. After deliberating, I thought better. It's wrong to condemn the whole paper because of the poor judgment of the one who picked out that cartoon.

Just as the Catholic Church has done, so too, this newspaper has done great work and is important to all of us.
Jim Piper,
Waldo