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Vatican City, 14th February 2007 (CNA) - In an
article published this Wednesday by the daily edition of L' Osservatore
Roman, Cardinal Claudio Hummes, Prefect of the Congregation for Clergy,
defended the importance of priestly celibacy for the Church, qualifying it
as "a precious gift from Christ."
To recall the 40th anniversary of the
Encyclical "Sacerdotalis caelibatus," written by Pope Paul VI, Cardinal
Hummes emphasizes that celibacy "has to be reflected upon and fortified,
especially in the, deeply secularized modern world."
"Studies indicate that the origins of celibacy
went back to the apostolic times," said the Prefect. He added that Pope
Paul VI’s encyclical emphasized that "priestly celibacy, which the Church
has kept for centuries like a brilliant precious stone, preserves all its
value even in our times, characterized by a deep transformation in the
mentality and framework."
Cardinal Hummes also recalled in his article
that during the meeting of the Heads of Dicasteries of the Roman Curia held
on November 16, 2006, "the value of the option for priestly celibacy was
reaffirmed, according to the Catholic tradition, and so too was defended the
demand for a solid Christian and human formation for seminarians as well as
for those already ordained priests."
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