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Priestly Celibacy

Now the Lord Jesus...desired that the Church, whose Bridegroom He is, should have her visage shining with the splendor of chastity....Hence all we priests and Levites are bound by the unbreakable law of those instructions to subdue our hearts and bodies to soberness and modesty from the day of our ordination, that we may be wholly pleasing to our God in the sacrifices which we daily offer.

- St. Siricius, Letter to Himerius, Bishop of Tarragon, February 10, 385

I command you to apply yourself with more energy to preaching and enforcing the celibacy of the clergy according to the edicts of the Fathers.

- St. Gregory VII, Letter to Hanno, Archbishop of Cologne, March 29, 1075

Priestly celibacy has been guarded by the Church for centuries as a brilliant jewel, and it retains its value undiminished even in our time when the outlook of men and the state of the world have undergone such profound changes.

- Paul VI, Sacerdotalis Caelibatus, June 24, 1967

No one does more harm to the Church than he, who having the title or rank of holiness, acts evilly.

- St. Gregory I the Great, Pastoral Care, c. 590

See that the bounds of common sense are not exceeded, however, for common sense is the guide of the virtues.

- Innocent IV, Quae Honorem Conditoris Omnium, October 1, 1247

The Church, to a great extent, derives Her vigor, Her apostolic zeal, and Her fervor in seeking holiness of life, from the flourishing condition of Her Religious Institutes.

- Paul VI, Address to the General Chapters of Religious orders and Congregations, May 23, 1964