U.S. Catholic Bishops Affirm Support of Priestly Celibacy

The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops opened their annual fall conference here Monday with an impassioned defense of priestly celibacy and a poignant tribute to a dying archbishop who has been a leading force in seeking reconciliation in a church buffeted by theological differences.

Stricken with terminal cancer, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago--the nation’s senior active cardinal--had hoped to be here in what undoubtedly would have been his last opportunity to meet with his fellow bishops. Doctors have given him only months to live.

Bernardin dispatched a handwritten letter to Bishop Anthony Pilla of Cleveland, president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, asking the assembled prelates for their prayers.

“My only request of them,” he wrote, “is that they pray that God will give me the strength and the grace I need each day. May God bless you all. Peace and love.”

He signed the letter simply “Joseph.”

It was only the second time in the 30-year history of the bishops’ conference that Bernardin, who was instrumental in its founding, has been absent. He served as president from 1974 to 1977.

Bernardin has been a central figure in counseling dialogue within the church. Earlier this year, he launched the “Catholic Common Ground” project to encourage dialogue on such divisive issues as the ordination of women, artificial birth control and priestly celibacy.

“I know of no other bishop who has given so much for so long so willingly and lovingly,” Pilla told the hushed prelates. Then, on the chance that Bernardin may have been watching the conference on television, Pilla added, “Your eminence, we, your brothers, give thanks for a life well-lived, a leadership splendidly shared, and a faith shining brightly for all to see. Joseph, our brother, thank you.”

As Pilla finished, the 275 bishops present rose to their feet and offered Bernardin a prolonged ovation in absentia.

In his presidential address, Pilla told the bishops that priests need their support in the face of a secular society that views celibacy with condescension.

“To sacrifice marriage and a family of one’s own is particularly relevant to our age in which sexuality is taken for granted and often debased,” Pilla said. “Celibacy in our times is a sign of contradiction, and I salute the overwhelming majority of the priests of this nation who loyally and faithfully live their promise of celibate chastity.”

His remarks come at a time when public opinion polls indicate that a majority of Catholics believe that making celibacy optional would attract more men to the priesthood, which has suffered a steady decline over the years.

But Pilla disagreed that celibacy was the cause of falling numbers. Quoting a Los Angeles Times poll of the nation’s priests and nuns three years ago, he said there is “clear evidence that priests continue to find their vocation personally enriching and vital to the life of the church.”

The Times poll concluded that most priests would not marry if given the option and that loyalty to the church as an institution was high among both priests and non-ordained men and women in religious orders--and that their morale was high.