tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845239886251312993.post764925609047553118..comments2023-09-26T00:42:29.508-07:00Comments on Caritas in Veritate: Deacons and continenceFather John Boylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10581732723849634398noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845239886251312993.post-42694505854000451402011-01-19T08:59:39.037-08:002011-01-19T08:59:39.037-08:00Oh, just one thing: just because a law doesn't...Oh, just one thing: just because a law doesn't appear before a certain date does not mean that the tradition did not exist. Laws are often made only when an accepted tradition is questioned or violated and I believe this is one of the arguments that Cochini and others put forward.Father John Boylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10581732723849634398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845239886251312993.post-53304901662073264182011-01-18T07:18:27.979-08:002011-01-18T07:18:27.979-08:00Having studied Cochini's works, and those by o...Having studied Cochini's works, and those by other scholars, I have been far from convinced that the continence of married clergy was apostolic. The evidence seems to be that it is fourth century and maybe third. How widespread it was even by the fourth century is a matter for debate, too. Eastern bishops argued differently. The earliest evidence suggests that any married cleric seeking continence, or anyone embracing celbacy, should approve this with the bishop (ref Ignatius of Antioch?) Paul in 1 Cor urges married people to remain in the condition in which they were called and to abstain from marital relations only for a season. The Orthodox have also developed a different tradition where married priests are not required to be continent, and the ministries of Eastern rite married clergy were accepted and valued in the documents of Vatican II. The Canon in question declares that celibacy is the case because continence is the case. You can't really have one without the other, for great stress can come into a marriage otherwise. We former Anglicans who are married are dispensed from the vow of celibacy, and surely, in the context of the canon, from continence also.<br />These debates about the early Church will rage on I am sure with claims and counter claims. The point is that the present teaching of the Church does not expect permanent deacons and convert clergy to be continent.Kevin O'Donnellnoreply@blogger.com