Question from George Mc Dermott on 3/15/2008:
How, when & why the church mandated that priests were no longer able to marry
Answer by Richard Geraghty on 3/26/2008:
Dear George,
The on line Catholic Encyclopedia has an excellent article on clerical celibacy. It seems that by the the 11th and 12th centuries that celibacy was required of all but it has always been honored as the higher state, as we can see from the words of St. Paul. I do not think there are any records of a Bishop in the early Church who has been officially married. In the Eastern Church a married man may be ordained. But he cannot marry after he has been ordained.
Dr. Geraghty
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