Celibacy

Hubert Wolf approaches the issue of celibacy from a historical perspective and assumes that the New Testament makes no pronouncement in favor of celibacy; Therefore, the attitude of the Church has undergone numerous changes since the early Middle Ages: from the acceptance of the marriage union, through the restriction of sexual intercourse between spouses in connection with the reception of the sacrament, through the acceptance of the fact that the Eastern Christian churches allow priests to marry, to the definitive consolidation of celibacy, which dates back to the 19th century, or to the turn of the 20th century. In addition to ecclesiastical and economic reasons - if there are no descendants, there is no one to inherit - Wolf finds other sources of celibacy in the Jewish rules of chastity and in late antiquity, especially in the Stoics and Gnostics with their dualism of matter and spirit. This ascetic ideal, however, is not at all consistent with the figure of Jesus.

In addition to a number of historical aspects, the author discusses current problems related to celibacy, such as the shortage of priests and the enormous number of cases of sexual abuse. The author clearly strives for a serious and balanced approach, but at the same time does not hide his own attitude to the whole issue, which is characterized by the title of the last chapter: "The old system is ending".

Hubert Wolf (1959), a German church historian, studied Catholic theology at the Universities of Tübingen and Munich with a focus on medieval and modern church history. In 1992 he became a professor at the University of Frankfurt am Main and later also in Münster. He has long been researching the Roman Inquisition and studying important ecclesiastical figures. In 2003 he received the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize and three years later the Gutenberg Prize. He is the author of several monographs, some of which have been translated into English, French, Italian and other languages. As an example, let's take the Index books. Der Vatican und die verbotenen Bücher (2006, Vatican Index of Banned Books), Papst und Teufel. Die Archive des Vatican und das Dritte Reich (2008, The Pope and the Devil. Vatican Archives and the Third Reich). His book The Case of Sant'Ambrogio was published in Czech translation by PROSTOR in 2017. The secret scandal of the Roman nuns. It was followed in 2018 by Conclave, also published by PROSTOR. The secret of the papal election.

An essential book that should receive adequate attention.

Mittelbayerische Zeitung

From the point of view of the theologian Hubert Wolf, the obligation of celibacy for the clergy is neither historically nor theologically justifiable.

Joachim Frank, Frankfurter Rundschau

Wolf puts forward sixteen theses, substantiated by cogent arguments, which avoid all controversy or ridicule and testify to the shaky legs of the historical support for the obligation of celibacy. Wolf reflects on solutions that offer church officials a direction of travel out of the crisis.

Martin Willy, Stuttgarter Zeitung

Anyone who wants to engage in a substantive discussion of celibacy needs to pick up this book.

Susanne Haverkamp, Kirchenbote

In his new book, church historian Hubert Wolf gives new ammunition to the celibacy debate and arguments to its opponents.

Rudolf Neumaier, Süddeutsche Zeitung