Pope Gregory XVI
In the days long before the liberalism of modern Popes, we had the amazing Pope Gregory XVI who reigned as Pope from 1831 to 1846. He firmly believed in Christian doctrine and did not care what other people thought. This is best expressed in his great encyclical Mirari Vos, which was published in 1832.
In paragraph 11 and 12, Pope Gregory goes after the opponents of clerical celibacy and the indissolubility of marriage.
In paragraph 11, we read:
Now, however, We want you to rally to combat the abominable conspiracy against clerical celibacy. This conspiracy spreads daily and is promoted by profligate philosophers, some even from the clerical order. They have forgotten their person and office, and have been carried away by the enticements of pleasure. They have even dared to make repeated public demands to the princes for the abolition of that most holy discipline. But it is disgusting to dwell on these evil attempts at length. Rather, We ask that you strive with all your might to justify and to defend the law of clerical celibacy as prescribed by the sacred canons, against which the arrows of the lascivious are directed from every side.
In paragraph 12, we read:
Now the honorable marriage of Christians, which Paul calls “a great sacrament in Christ and the Church,” demands our shared concern lest anything contrary to its sanctity and indissolubility is proposed. Our predecessor Pius VIII would recommend to you his own letters on the subject. However, troublesome efforts against this sacrament still continue to be made. The people therefore must be zealously taught that a marriage rightly entered upon cannot be dissolved; for those joined in matrimony God has ordained a perpetual companionship for life and a knot of necessity which cannot be loosed except by death. Recalling that matrimony is a sacrament and therefore subject to the Church, let them consider and observe the laws of the Church concerning it. Let them take care lest for any reason they permit that which is an obstruction to the teachings of the canons and the decrees of the councils. They should be aware that those marriages will have an unhappy end which are entered upon contrary to the discipline of the Church or without God’s favor or because of concupiscence alone, with no thought of the sacrament and of the mysteries signified by it.
If you ask most people who call themselves Catholic(I say this because the word “Catholic” can have a cultural meaning as well) they will probably be embarrassed by the doctrine of priestly celibacy. They might think it’s a relic of the past that needs to be abandoned sooner rather than later so that the Church can catch up to modernity.
Similar opinions exists in discussing the sacrament of marriage. A valid marriage remains valid until one of the two dies. Although one party can obtain a civil divorce if needed, they are still sacramentally married for life.
Despite all of the changes in Catholic practice that came in the 1960’s and afterwards, priestly celibacy and the indissolubility of marriage have remained intact. Regardless, they are certainly not without their opponents. These two views are under attack by heretics outside the church and the modernists within the Church.
The track record of changes in the last 50 years to make the Church more modern have failed across the board on a massive level. Changing these two Church practices would be equally disastrous. The Priesthood has been hurt enough by poor formation and by homosexuals within its ranks. Marriage has been hurt by massive divorce rates in formerly Catholic countries.
Pope Gregory XVI was a warrior in his day. Most people who call themselves Catholic would be embarrassed by the man. He’s simply the typical Catholic Pope that existed before the 1960’s. We need to cling on to his teachings.
The Encyclical contains much other good material as well. Catholics and non-Catholics should all read this document. The link is below.
What would Pope Gregory cite as examples of “those marriages will have an unhappy end which are entered upon contrary to the discipline of the Church” in his times? Was he thinking of certain people who left the Catholic Church to follow their vices?
I think that’s exactly what he was thinking of.