Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on Celibacy And The Priesthood. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 9 page paper. Celibacy has been mandated for Catholic priests for hundreds of years. It is a man-made law but proponents argue that it is based on apostolic tradition. It was the early 4th century before anything about marriage and priests was addressed. This essay presents an historical overview of the practice of celibacy for Catholic priests. The specific Biblical passages that seem to support celibacy are cited and discussed as is Canonical law. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
Page Count:
9 pages (~225 words per page)
File: MM12_PGclbc.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
in the 1980s (Schoenherr, 1995). That number increased to 603 between 1990 and 1993 but then it fell again (Schoenherr, 1995). Compounding these data are the number of young priests
who leave their vocation after being ordained, about 38 percent in the 1980s (Schoenherr, 1995). At the same time that the number or priests is declining, the number of parishioners
in Catholic churches is increasing (Schoenherr, 1995). Schoenherr argues that if the environment is keeping men from entering the priesthood, then the environment must be changed or it must be
adapted (1995). Schoenherr reports that "Study after study over the last three decades has concluded that poor recruitment and retention of priests is caused, in great measure, by problems with
mandatory celibacy" (Schoenherr, 1995). The Church, however, in other words the Pope and Bishops refuse to acknowledge there may be a connection between the declining number of priests and the
requirement of celibacy for priests (Schoenherr, 1995). Furthermore, the Church officials see this shortage of priests as a temporary phenomenon (Schoenherr, 1995). Many priests and bishops were married during the
first centuries of the Church (McGovern, 2003). It was not until the Council of Trent in the mid-1500s that celibacy was made a mandate for priests (McGovern, 2003). We also
know that married priests were common because St. Paul told Titus and Timothy that candidates for ordination should have been married only once: "Therefore, a bishop must be irreproachable, married
only once" (1 Toothy 3:2). We also know that Peter was married and it would be likely that other Apostles were also married (McGovern, 2003). This is confirmed in Luke
18:28-30 and Matthew 19:27-30 when Peter tells Jesus they left their homes and followed Him. Some scholars argue that celibacy is founded on ancient pagan practices (Lederer, 1993). Sipe, for
...