Vatican to Ban Gay Priests

[Prudence]

Originally Posted by MickeyD

Ah, but, they consider the sacrament that is available only to priests (& deacons), Holy Orders, to be even more holy than marriage.

But the two sacraments were not always mutually exclusive. The adoption of a more ascetic lifestyle was gradual, in fits and starts, and not imposed from the beginning. In fact, there are those who argue that the church does not truly follow through with its alleged committment to the ascetic life -- witness the various reform-style heresies (Waldensians, Humiliati, etc...) -- and that it's historical accumulation of property is inconsistent with its mission.

But that would be an entirely different thread.