# Vatican now open to discussion about priestly celibacy

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vatican-now-open-to-discussion-about-priestly-celibacy/668735>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [September 13, 2013, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vatican-now-open-to-discussion-about-priestly-celibacy/668735 "2013-09-13T02:32:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 3

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2013, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vatican-now-open-to-discussion-about-priestly-celibacy/668735/41 "2013-09-21T04:02:17Z")

</div>

> [@doreen](#):
>
> It’s not progress- the only difference between now and 60 years ago is that in those days the question would never have been asked. It would have been a change if the Archbishop had said “will be discussed”

How is that NOT progress? We went from it being unthinkable to discuss it to being allowed to discuss it.

The point is that this Pope is making a big deal out of these things that everyone was supposed to know. It’s as if he’s saying “You know, how about instead of just saying this isn’t dogma, we treat it like it actually isn’t dogma?”

And it’s a good thing because the celibacy of priests leads people to think that marriage (and therefore sex) must actually be sinful\*, seeing as the most holy people don’t get married. When, really, the reason neither Jesus nor Paul got married was just that they didn’t have time to have a wife. Paul pretty much says as much.

\*Because people don’t just listen to what you say, but how you act. Just like people don’t just listen when you say that something isn’t dogma when you act like it can’t be questioned.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vatican-now-open-to-discussion-about-priestly-celibacy/668735.md?page=2)