Did Rome prefer that Catholic clergy not work for national governments?
Upvote:2
Did Rome prefer that Catholic clergy not work for national governments?
The short answer is historically possibly yes and no, but in modern times it is a definitely yes.
Things have changed over the centuries and Rome has become more explicit and demanding as to what or what not a Catholic priest may or may not do.
The political situation in past centuries is no where near what it is today.
Prior to the Code of Canon Law of 1917, these would have been decided on an individual basis.
The corresponding canons in the 1917 code made the same general assertions about the need for Catholic clerics to avoid activities that are considered unsuitable for them, and even provided some detailed examples. They specified that clergy should not go hunting, or even enter a tavern without a just cause, practise medicine without their superior’s approval or work as lawyers in civil courts. As for holding public office, the former code noted that as a rule, the clergy were not to seek or accept such a role without the permission of their own bishop (or in the case of clerics who were members of religious institutions, their religious superior), and the bishop of the territory in which the election is being held.
Keep in mind that the world was different place back 1917, and the Church back at that time foresaw instances in which a priest might reasonably be allowed to work as an elected official in some countries. Back then, numerous countries had laws declaring Catholicism the official state religion, and so the relationship between the civil government and the Catholic Church in these nations was very different from the one that we Americans are accustomed to today. - Can Priests Hold Public Office?
In modern days, priest are no longer be allowed to hold any public office at all. Pope John Paul II made this very clear in the new code of Canon Law (1982) with the following statement:
Can. 285 §1. Clerics are to refrain completely from all those things which are unbecoming to their state, according to the prescripts of particular law.
§2. Clerics are to avoid those things which, although not unbecoming, are nevertheless foreign to the clerical state.
§3. Clerics are forbidden to assume public offices which entail a participation in the exercise of civil power.
Since the new code was promulgated, the Vatican has taken this subject matter very serious. I can still remember see Father Fernando Cardenal kneeling down to receive the blessing of Pope John Paul II in 1984 and seeing the Roman Pontiff refuse to bless him. In fact, Pope John Paul II waged his finger at him saying something like “when you will obey!”
During his visit to Nicaragua in 1983, Pope John Paul II publicly reprimanded Fr Ernesto Cardenal as the priest knelt to welcome the pope at Managua airport.
Pope John Paul suspended Fr Cardenal along with a number of other priests – Maryknoll priest Fr Miguel D’Escoto and Fr Cardenal’s brother, Jesuit Fr Fernando Cardenal. A fourth priest, Fr Edgar Parrales, who was ambassador to the Organization of American States, requested laicization. - John Paul II’s sanction on Nicaraguan priest–poet lifted
More information may be found in the following article(s):
More post
- 📝 When was it claimed for the first time that Christians could "pray in tongues" in private for self-edification?
- 📝 Does Catholicism teach that the Pope is God?
- 📝 St. Augustine's views on salvation through coercion
- 📝 In Galatians 4:19, what is the meaning of "Christ formed in you"?
- 📝 What positions with regard to epistemology exist in Catholicism?
- 📝 Washing of feet - Is it a part of Communion?
- 📝 What is the Rule of Prayer?
- 📝 If we are certain there is a God then why is it called a 'faith'?
- 📝 Why did God enter humanity so silently on Christmas day?
- 📝 Mary as the road that we must travel in order to reach God?
- 📝 How non-trinitarians explain Jacob wrestled with God
- 📝 Is it possible for an atheist to be moral?
- 📝 Does God consider nudity a sin?
- 📝 Who created heaven and hell?
- 📝 Is the Christian Religion based on "Faith in Faith" or does it have a foundation of "Acceptance of Facts"?
- 📝 Does the Catholic Church have to submit to an approved private revelation?
- 📝 Christianity, community, friendship, and relationships
- 📝 Where did Martin Luther say
- 📝 According to the Jehovah's Witnesses, where does the Devil come from?
- 📝 According to Catholic Church, to what extent is faith a gift of God in terms of Romans 12: 3?
- 📝 I have a question for Roman Catholics does Ephesians 2:8-9 teach faith alone?
- 📝 Did common folk have the opportunity to read or hear psalms in common language starting in 1000 in Europe or in Africa?
- 📝 What are the differences in belief regarding Hesychasm between the Chalcedonian (Eastern) and Non-Chalcedonian (Oriental) Orthodox Churches?
- 📝 Will God destroy the earth again?
- 📝 Book on "What Happened to the Seven Churches of Revelation?"
- 📝 According to Catholicism can you be saved without being baptised?
- 📝 When did the concept of οὐσία begin to refer to God's nature?
- 📝 Essenes' Beliefs in Comparison to Christianity
- 📝 Is the Book of Mormon in English as authentic as in the original, or is Joseph Smith's translation imperfect?
- 📝 Do Calvinists believe that God does not love the world, but only the elect?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Did Rome prefer that Catholic clergy not work for national governments?
- 📝 What is the basis for the belief that the wise men did not arrive in Bethlehem until several months after the birth of Jesus?
- 📝 Where does the Catholic tradition that Mary did not have pain giving birth to Jesus come from?
- 📝 Did Chesterton ever explain why he did not formally become a Catholic until long after he had starting thinking and writing for Catholics?
- 📝 Can a Catholic cite a religion as a reason for not doing something even if that thing isn't officially prohibited by the Church?
- 📝 Did most of the people that Jesus heal believe he was God? If so, why does the Bible not record them asking for salvation?
- 📝 What is the scriptural basis, if any, for the Catholic teaching that the h*m*sexual tendency is of itself not a sin?
- 📝 Seeking a Catholic framework for interpreting Bible verses about God's rewards that are commensurate with a believer's work
- 📝 What is the basis for the argument that Jesus DID NOT have the ability to sin or give in to temptation?
- 📝 How did the Catholic canon that Christians could not 'share a meal with a Jew' differ in spirit from the Pharisees traditions concerning Gentiles?
- 📝 Is it true that some of the Catholic saints did not existat all?
- 📝 When did the prohibition of marriage for priests in the Catholic church originate?
- 📝 Jesus predicts that some will not die until he comes in his kingdom, but did this occur?
- 📝 According to those holding that Lazarus was literally raised from the dead, why did Matthew, Mark, and Luke not mention it?
- 📝 What does it mean that Jesus fulfilled the law but did not abolish it?
- 📝 According to those holding that Jesus was literally born of a virgin, why did Paul not mention it?
- 📝 Is there a Biblical basis for not believing that Global Warming is occurring?
- 📝 When did Mary and Joseph learn that they were never supposed to have marital relations, according to Roman Catholic doctrine?
- 📝 Did Paul write other letters that are not in the Bible?
- 📝 Is there any evidence for the claim that the Catholic church suppressed translation of Scripture?
- 📝 What is the biblical argument for eating meat, or that vegetarianism is possible but not commanded?
- 📝 What is the basis for believing that the wrath of God is not an accommodation?
- 📝 How do Christians respond to the criticism that Jesus of Nazareth did not bring world peace?
- 📝 What is the basis for the Catholic teaching that artificial birth control is wrong?
- 📝 Did George Muller have a Biblical basis for not accepting illegitimate orphans?
- 📝 Does one have to admit to not being a virgin when preparing for a Catholic wedding?
- 📝 Since when did the Catholic church accept Protestant baptism, and what was the original rationale for accepting?
- 📝 What is the origin of the idea that the baby Jesus did not cry?
- 📝 What evidence is there from scripture for why Daniel did not eat the King's food?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for the belief that Michael is not Jesus?