“Poor Brother Mark had ceased to be a man; he had become a eunuch.” These are the words of a former Roman Catholic priest who grew disillusioned with his church over many things, including the dogma of celibacy for its priests. Hello, and welcome back to our discussion of several of the booklets and books from our resource desk at our church. In today’s video, I examine our booklet called Celibacy: A Catholic Student Challenges Celibacy. In this booklet, Charles Chiniquy is a Roman Catholic priest wondering why priests were not allowed to marry, and here is a former Roman Catholic priest writing kind of an exposé on his former church. In this video, we are going to look at the first time he faced this issue, even as a child, when a monk from his own town effectively makes himself a eunuch, and then we will look at an argument that he has as a student studying to become a priest.
Brother Mark
Now, the author, Charles Chiniquy, was a Roman Catholic priest in the mid-1800s. He was completely devoted to God. He loved the Lord, and yet he was so bothered by some of the teachings of his church that it eventually led him to Christianity, and one of those teachings was the church’s stance on celibacy, how a Roman Catholic priest must remain unmarried. These booklets are from the larger book called Fifty Years in the Church of Rome, and we just pulled out some of the chapters. In chapter 2, which we pulled out, he tells of when he was a young boy. He used to love going fishing with a respected Catholic monk in his town. The whole town called him Brother Mark, and he was kind of a quirky man, but very tidy. He lived with his sister, and he was just an honorable clockmaker. One day, when Chiniquy was about nine or ten years old, he hears this dreadful scream coming from the cottage of Brother Mark. He is saying, “Oh my God, have mercy on me! Save me! I am lost!” There is this dreadful screaming from him, and then his sister, whom he is living with, comes outside screaming and shouting, “Come to our help! My poor brother is dying! For God’s sake, make haste! He is losing all his blood!” So naturally the people are gathering from all over, and the doctor arrives and tells a few men what had happened. All these people are standing around, this whole crowd is so concerned, and then all of a sudden they start laughing. Here is young Charles Chiniquy, confused, until the truth dawns on him. He said, “Poor Brother Mark had ceased to be a man; he had become a eunuch.” He said that from that moment on he could not even stand to be around Brother Mark because of the shame of what had taken place. He never forgot that moment, especially years later when he was in school studying to become a priest.
The Argument in Class
Well, this topic of celibacy comes up again in class, and with respect, Charles Chiniquy asked his superiors why a gracious God would command some to be married in the Scriptures but forbid his servants to have the comfort of a wife. His superior said, “Well, you have spoken as a true heretic. You speak of the Holy Scriptures just as a Protestant would. You have appealed to them as the only source of Christian truth and knowledge. Have you forgotten that we have the holy traditions to guide us, the authority of which is equal to that of the Scriptures? You are correct when you say that we do not find any direct proof in the Bible to enforce the vow of celibacy upon those who desire to consecrate themselves to the service of the church. But if we do not find the obligation of that vow in the Bible, we find it in the holy traditions of the church. It is an article of faith that the vow of celibacy is ordered by Jesus Christ through his church. The ordinances of the church, which are nothing but the ordinances of the Son of God, are clear on that subject and bind your consciences just as the commandments of God upon Mount Sinai. For Christ has said that those who do not hear the church must be looked upon as heathens and publicans. There is no salvation for those who do not submit their reasoning to the teachings of the church. You are not required to understand all the reasons for the vow of celibacy, but you are bound to believe in its necessity and holiness, as the church has pronounced her verdict upon that question. It is not your business to argue about these matters; your duty is to obey the church, as dutiful children obey a kind mother.” Then he proceeded to give a few scriptures which seemed to prove his point, such as a text which says, “They have left all and followed me.” But Chiniquy respectfully asked how they arrived at the conclusion that that text means they left their families, and it almost turned into an argument in class. Chiniquy’s classmates were cheering him on and congratulating him afterwards.
The Vow
But he was so sincere in his beliefs that, before the truth of the gospel could penetrate his heart, against his better judgment he went with what they told him, took the vow of celibacy, and became a priest. He said, “More than ever, I determined to have no knowledge, no thought, no will, no light, no desires, no science, but that which my church would give me through my superiors. I was fallible; she was infallible. I was a sinner; she was the immaculate spouse of Jesus Christ. I was weak; she had more power than the great waters of the ocean. I was but an atom; she was covering the world with her glory. What, therefore, could I have to fear in humbling myself at her feet, to live of her life, to be strong of her strength, wise of her wisdom, holy with her holiness? Had not my superiors repeatedly told me that no error, no sin, would be imputed to me as long as I obeyed my church and walked in her ways? With these sentiments of a most profound and perfect respect for my church, I irrevocably consecrated myself to her service on the 4th of May, 1832, by making the vow of celibacy and accepting the office of subdeacon.” What a sad state to be in. He was just so sad, until ultimately he was saved by grace through faith many years later. Now, again, these are not my words on the topic. These are the words directly from a former Roman Catholic priest about the false dogma of celibacy for priests, and it is worth reading about in his own words. We have these booklets available for free in the book rack at our church. In the next video, we are going to look at the phrase that he heard over and over again, which was, “Be a corpse.” Until then, grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. God bless you. Thank you for watching the video. I really pray that it can be a blessing to you and really help bring the Bible home. If it was a blessing and a help to you, would you consider liking the video and subscribing to our channel? We look forward to seeing you in the next video.
