The priestly right to be married

Abstract

After decrees had been issued by the Synods of Poitiers (1078) and Clermont (1095) against the marriage of priests and the ordination of their sons to clerical office, many French clerici reacted against the contents of these decrees as well as against the imperialism of Rome. In this article seven texts from the northern ecclesiastical provinces of France, Rouen, Reims and Sens, are analysed. The right of a priest to be married and to remain so are defended on the grounds of Biblical, patristic and ancient synodal decisions, and arguments for the individual right of their sons to be saved by Christ and to be cleansed by the sacraments, are put forward. The texts are typical male, European texts written in a period before scholastic argumentation took over the theological scene. Furthermore, because the arguments are formed within canonical law, very few questions about the social implications of priests forced to abandon their wives, can be ascertained from these texts.