Pope says celibacy obligatory for priests

Pope Benedict XVI has reiterated his support for priestly celibacy, saying the example of Christ's virginity was a principal reason why the tradition remains in the Catholic Church.

The Pope reaffirmed that divorced Catholics who remarried and non-Catholics could not receive the Eucharist and that the Church's stances on abortion and gay marriage were not negotiable.

The Pope's letter was welcomed by the Irish bishops, who said it represented a "new level of harmony and clarity to the Church's presentation of the liturgical development which followed the Second Vatican Council".

In Sacramentum Caritatis, a letter which is the Pope's reflections on the Synod of Bishops held in Rome in October 2005, Benedict XVI said priestly celibacy "remains obligatory" in the Church. He described it as an "immense blessing for the Church and for society itself".

"The fact that Christ himself, the eternal priest, lived his mission even to the sacrifice of the Cross in the state of virginity constitutes the sure point of reference for understanding the meaning of the tradition of the Latin Church."

Benedict XVI has been a consistent supporter of priestly celibacy. However, Cardinal Claudio Hummes, whom he appointed as head of the Congregation for the Clergy, said last year that celibacy was a "discipline, not a dogma of the church" and could be reviewed in the future, though he later stressed that reform was not on the agenda.

Benedict said bishops should "on no account" lower admission standards to seminaries to compensate for a shortage of clergy.

The Pope also explained that there was an "objective connection" between receiving the Eucharist and the stance Catholic politicians take on abortion and gay marriage.

"Bishops are bound to reaffirm constantly these values as part of their responsibility to the flock entrusted to them," he wrote.

When questioned if that meant Catholic politicians could be refused Communion, Cardinal Angelo Scola, who presented the document, said it "doesn't say what it doesn't want to say".

The Pope gave support to the Latin Mass and to Gregorian chant as the "proper" music to celebrate the Eucharist. A traditionalist who has made public his dislike of much modern music, the Pope said "generic improvisation or musical genres which fail to respect the meaning of the liturgy should be avoided".

The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, said Sacramentum Caritatis was "a profound summary of theological and spiritual reflection on the Eucharist as the source and the summit of the Church's life and mission". He announced that the Archdiocese of Dublin would mark the 75th anniversary of the Eucharistic Congress with a Eucharistic procession in Holy Cross College, Clonliffe on June 7th, the feast of Corpus Christi.