Catholic Diocese Of Joliet

Bishop Conlon talks about Vatican II Council's Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests -- in Latin it is called "Presbyterorum Ordinis" -- and special spiritual requirements in the life of a priest. In this podcast, he talks about the priest representing the Church as the spouse of Christ, rather than the priest being married to individual person, so that he can represent the whole Church in its relationship to Christ. In other words, the priest lives not in a relationship that will end in death, but will be resumed in eternity. It is a foreshadowing of what is to come in heaven. Celibacy is a gift from God given to someone called by God to be a priest. It's not a rule of the church. The decree makes it clear that priests are to remain people who will not marry and should not engage in sexual behavior.