Celibacy

Founded in a deep knowledge of church history, and argued with forceful lucidity, Wolf delivers a wake-up call that ought to be heard at the Vatican.

Celibate priesthood has been justified by cultish ideas of purity. Historically, it protected the Church’s assets from the inheritance rights legal sons might have claimed, and later it served to delimit Catholic clergy from Protestant counterparts. More recently, John Paul II. idealized celibacy by pointing to the example of Jesus. But the numerous cases of sexual abuse that have come to light put into question how the Catholic institution really works. Wolf examines the celibate tradition, explains how it emerged, why the old arguments no longer apply and why it ought to go now: exceptions have worked well, the lack of priests might be remedied and the risk factors for abuse diminished. In one respect, Wolf agrees with the proponents of celibacy: its abolition may well dispose of the clerical system as it stands, with its derogatory attitude to ‘laymen’ and women. To Wolf, that would be a good thing.

C.H. Beck has published also his bestseller The Nuns of Sant’Ambrogio(2013) which has been translated into 8 languages and a lot of other titles.