Cardinal Walter Kasper, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said Monday, speaking to the Portuguese agency Ecclesia, who never called for the abolition of celibacy in the Church.The German Cardinal was yesterday in Lisbon, on the occasion of the honorary doctorate awarded him the Catholic University of Portugal (UCP).
His name, along with the current pope, Joseph Ratzinger, and Karl Rahner, Karl Otto Lehmann Semmelroth and appears in the signing of a memorandum of 1970 to the German bishops, which called for a study on the need mandatory celibacy for priests.This text was made public by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, referring to the recent manifesto signed by 143 theologians German, Swiss and Austrians in which inter alia calls for the repeal of the law of celibacy.Cardinal Kasper, asked Ecclesia, clarified that the memorandum of 1970 was intended to "discuss" the issue, but no proposal to "abolish" the discipline.
"After this, there was much discussion, there were three global synods spoke on celibacy, and it was decided to maintain this discipline, and I credited that celibacy is good for the Church," added the cardinal.
He also stated that since 1970, "times have changed, and although he admitted that this argument is never closed, he also stressed that "the decision of the Church in this matter has been concluded and that the current Pope does not intend to change this discipline" of mandatory celibacy.
(Rd/Zenit) (Rd / Zenit)
