Priestly Celibacy--Its Scriptural, Historical, Spiritual, and Psychological Roots

Priestly Celibacy--Its Scriptural, Historical, Spiritual, and Psychological Roots, edited by Rev. Peter Stravinskas.

This anthology of essays has for the majority of its authors either Protestants or converts to the Catholic Faith. At once theologically and historically precise, it is intensely practical, helping the reader to appreciate that charism rightly dubbed by Pope Paul VI as "the jewel of the priesthood."

"The practice of celibacy has come under attack at various times in the past thirty years. The debates have sometimes obscured the great value celibacy is to the individual practitioner and to the Church. Father Stravinskas, completing the work of Kenneth Howell, has compiled an excellent presentation on the gift of celibacy from many different theological disciplines. The work addresses various aspects of the practice, from the scriptural and dogmatic, to the historical, spiritual, and practical. The work defends the practice of celibacy and highlights the benefits and fruits of the practice in the life of the Church. Clergy and laity, married andsingle, will find reading this book worthwhile both theologically and spiritually." – Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua, Archbishop of Philadelphia.

Paperback, 174 pp