Mexico City, Mexico, Nov 25, 2003 / 22:00 pm
During the ordination ceremony last week for his diocese, Bishop Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel of San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, Mexico, made a passionate defense of celibacy, calling it the complete giving of oneself to the priestly ministry and explaining that not everybody can understand it.
“People often say that celibacy, both for men and women, is at odds with the indigenous culture,” said the bishop in his homily. “Perpetual celibacy for the Kingdom of heaven is at odds with every culture, including the Jewish, Greek, Roman, European and Mexican cultures.”
Before a large number of faithful who came to witness the ordination to the priesthood of Manuel Pérez Gómez, a descendent of the Tsotsil Indians, Bishop Arizmendi explained that celibacy “is a gift, a special grace that not everyone can understand or embrace. It is a state of life which the Indians themselves greatly appreciate as a sign of complete giving in service to the community.”
“Jesus Christ chose to be celibate. His mother remained a virgin. Both the apostle John and St. Paul, close collaborators of Jesus, did not marry. St. Paul recommends virginity in order to be completely consecrated to the Lord, without divisions,” the bishop said.