Bishops say ixnay on arriage may.

[niallmac]

Where does the celibacy rule come from?
Does it come from scripture, pracitcality or both?
Considering the difficulties the Catholic Church has dealt with
e.g. sexual abuse and an exodus of priests, would not abolishing
vows of celibacy be in the best interests of the Church? It seems a life or
death matter for Catholicism itself. I am not Catholic nor am I much of
a church goer at all but I do not wish to see any organization that on some
level promotes peace to sink into oblivion.

[Kagemusha]

1. It comes from legitimate children threatening church properties.

So that's where the being "married to the church" comes from - so the land held by the church, stayed with the church.

[niallmac]

2. Ohhhh. Thank you. That makes sense!

Not today though.

[jmm]

4. A priest told me that in Catholic school.

He also said an other reason is that if a priest dies or divorces...err..I mean gets their marriage annuled...his wife might try to claim church property.

[CatholicEdHead]

6. Easy fix

mandatory pre-nup.

[Az]

3. There is a long standing conflict between church and mind

Religion and religious belief in general seems to advocate connection between the individual and the proposed source of the universe. Early forms of Christianity were known for their variety of means to attain communion with god. But over time the various means and ways were weeded out and the few surviving became controlled by the church. Contact with the divine was restricted to the clergy and they alone were supposed to interpret it.

But means of altering one's mental state still exist within society. Sex and alcohol are the primary socially acceptable means. But the church still opposes them in theory.

Sex during the height of passion takes control of the mind. It can even lead to altered states of mind. You can feel as though you are one with another. It creates an emotional bond tighter than what the church can control. But it tries.

First it tries to restrict sex to all but procreative purposes. Second it restricts it to controlled unions approved of and monitored by the clergy. But even within these confines there is a conflict between the church and sex. Even controlled the church fears it. It is something that gives a path they cannot absolutely control.

[CatholicEdHead]

5. Check out this link:

http://www.futurechurch.org/fpm/history.htm