F
ormer Pope Bene-
dict has defended
priestly celibacy
in the Catholic
Church, in a new
book written with a
conservative cardi-
nal.
Benedict’s defense appears to be a
strategically timed appeal to Pope
Francis to not change the rules.
The Pope wrote the book, “From
the Depths of Our Hearts,” with
Cardinal Robert Sarah, 74, a Guin-
ean prelate who heads the Vatican’s
Congregation for Divine Worship
and the Discipline of the Sacra-
ments.
Excerpts were published on the
website of the French newspaper
Le Figaro.
The Vatican had no immediate
comment on the book, which is
due to be published on Monday.
In October, the final document
of an assembly of Roman Catholic
bishops, or synod, from the Ama-
zon proposed that married men in
the remote area be allowed to be or-
dained priests, which could lead to
a landmark change in the Church’s
centuries-old discipline of celibacy.
Pope Francis will consider it,
along with many other proposals
on issues that emerged during the
synod, including the environment
and the role of women, in a docu-
ment of his own, known as an Ap-
ostolic Exhortation.
It is expected to be issued in the
next few months.
In 2013, when he became the first
pope in 700 years to resign, Bene-
dict, who lives in the Vatican and is
now 92 and in failing health, vowed
to remain “hidden from the world”.
But he has given interviews,
written articles and contributed
to books, in effect breaking that
pledge and cheering conservatives,
some of whom do not recognise
Francis’ legitimacy.
Massimo Faggioli, a theologian
at Villanova University in the U.S.,
called it “a serious breach” by the
former pope, who vowed “uncon-
ditional reverence and obedience”
to his successor.
In his part of the book, Benedict
says celibacy, which became a stable
tradition in the Church only about
1,000 years ago, carries “great signif-
icance” because it allows a priest to
concentrate on his vocation.
He says “it doesn’t seem possible
to realise both vocations (priest-
hood and marriage) simultaneous-
ly.”
In a joint introduction, both
men say they could not remain
silent about the October synod,
which at times led to clashes be-
tween progressive and conservative
Catholic media outlets, underscor-
ing the polarisation in the 1.3 bil-
lion-member Church.
