SW News: At a time when clerical celibacy is coming under attack from various quarters, a top prelate has defended it. Speaking to an Italian channel, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the former prefect of the Dicastery of Bishops, said that celibacy is a gift from God and it should be cherished.

The Canadian cardinal said celibacy should be upheld to encourage vocation because it is a testimony of faith, instead of denouncing it. He stated this in an interview given to Italian Television TGCOM24.

The cardinal recalled the conference "Towards a fundamental theology of the priesthood" that was launched by Pope Francis in the Vatican in February 2022.
“Reflecting on the fundamental theology of the priesthood will also make it possible to return to the justifications for priestly celibacy and the way it is lived.

It is a service owed to those who are preparing to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders to show them the reasons that justify such a request and such a commitment to life, and to propose to them accordingly and coherently the most suitable ways of living in fidelity to this gift. After this, it is possible for them to make an informed commitment. The consecration of one's entire life takes in the whole person and can only be justified by following Christ in a Trinitarian dynamic. Love is at the root of self-giving. The human balance that is required to envisage a particular vocation is certainly necessary, and indispensable, but ultimately, the commitment can only be based on a theology that is itself just, making room for all vocations and situating that of the ministry within the whole,” he had said.

The cardinal said that because the Petrine ministry of the Pope is the rock on which one can rest, he serves as the point of reference for the unity of the Church.

"History and the Church are going through a trying time right now. In order to keep the Church united, we must reach out to the Pope and support him in his ministry, not undermine him now,” the cardinal said.
Cardinal Robert Sarah once described the possibility of ordaining married men as “a pastoral catastrophe, an ecclesiological confusion and an obscuring of the understanding of the priesthood”.

Reflecting on the subject, the late Benedict XVI said priesthood and celibacy are united. He said in the ancient Church, married men could receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders only if they committed themselves to sexual abstinence.
Pope Francis has also made various statements on the matter. The Holy Father explained that he was in favor of upholding celibacy in the book conversation he had with Rabbi Abraham Skorka when he was still a Cardinal.