(CNA. Martin Bürger).
Discussions about priestly celibacy are often emotional these days. Reference is regularly made to the so-called “human sciences”, although it is often not clear what exactly this is supposed to show. Those who criticize compulsory celibacy in the Latin West also point to the practice of the Eastern churches, where married men are allowed to become priests.
Especially for Catholic theologians, who always rely on tradition as well as Scripture, the study of sources should be of paramount importance – also when it comes to the topic of celibacy. A monumental 1,000-page working tool has now been presented by the Munich pastoral theologian Andreas Wollbold to facilitate the study of sources on priestly celibacy.