Celibacy is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both, usually for religious reasons. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the term celibacy is applied only to those for whom the unmarried state is the result of a sacred vow, act of renunciation, or religious conviction. In a wider sense, it is commonly understood to only mean abstinence from sexual activity.
From the earliest days of the Christian faith, Christians have viewed marriage as a divinely blessed, lifelong, monogamous union between a man and a woman. However, while many Christians might agree with the traditional definition, the terminology and theological views of marriage have varied through time in different countries, and among Christian denominations.
Mohammed VI is King of Morocco. A member of the 'Alawi dynasty, he acceded to the throne on 23 July 1999, upon the death of his father, King Hassan II.
Clerical celibacy is the requirement in certain religions that some or all members of the clergy be unmarried. Clerical celibacy also requires abstention from deliberately indulging in sexual thoughts and behavior outside of marriage, because these impulses are regarded as sinful. Vows of celibacy are generally required for monks and nuns in Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and other religions, but often not for other clergy.
Clerical marriage is the practice of allowing Christian clergy to marry. This practice is distinct from allowing married persons to become clergy. Clerical marriage is admitted among Protestants, including both Anglicans and Lutherans. Some Protestant clergy and their children have played an essential role in literature, philosophy, science, and education in Early Modern Europe.
Emmanuel Milingo is an excommunicated former Roman Catholic archbishop from Zambia. He was ordained in 1958; in 1969, aged 39, Milingo was consecrated by Pope Paul VI as the bishop of the Archdiocese of Lusaka. In 1983, he stepped down from his position as Archbishop of Lusaka after criticism for exorcism and faith healing practices that were not approved by church authorities. In 2001, when Milingo was 71, he received a marriage blessing from Sun Myung Moon, the leader of the Unification Church, despite the prohibition on marriage for ordained priests. In July 2006, he established Married Priests Now!, an advocacy organization to promote the acceptance of married priests in the Roman Catholic Church.
Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco, also known as Prince Moulay Rachid ben al-Hassan, is a member of the Alawi dynasty. He was the youngest child of the late King Hassan II and his wife, Lalla Latifa. He holds a doctorate in international politics. He is currently second in the line of succession to the Moroccan throne.
Princess Lalla Salma is the former wife of Mohammed VI of Morocco. They married in 2002, and she became the first wife of a Moroccan ruler to have been publicly acknowledged. She was last seen in an official capacity in December 2017, and it was later on reported, in 2018, that she and Mohammed VI had divorced.
The Pastoral Provision is a set of practices and norms in the Catholic Church in the United States, by which bishops are authorized to provide spiritual care for Catholics converting from the Anglican tradition, by establishing parishes for them and ordaining priests from among them. The provision provides a way for individuals to become priests in territorial dioceses, even after Pope Benedict XVI's apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus established the Personal Ordinariates, a non-diocesan mechanism for former Anglicans to join the Church.
In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. Secular priests are priests who commit themselves to a certain geographical area and are ordained into the service of the residents of a diocese or equivalent church administrative region. That includes serving the everyday needs of the people in parishes, but their activities are not limited to that of their parish.
Moulay Hassan bin Mohammed is Crown Prince of Morocco. He is the elder child of King Mohammed VI of Morocco and Princess Lalla Salma. He has a younger sister, Princess Lalla Khadija. He is named after his grandfather Hassan II. Upon his accession, he is expected to bear the regnal name Hassan III. In 2013, he began participating with his father at public official engagements.
Sacerdotalis caelibatus is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI. Acknowledging the traditions given by the Holy Spirit to the Church in the East and acknowledging some few pastoral exceptions in the West, the encyclical explains and defends the Catholic Church's tradition of clerical celibacy in the West. The encyclical is dated 24 June 1967.
Princess Lalla Latifa née: Amahzoune; is the widow of King Hassan II of Morocco, and the mother of King Mohammed VI, Princesses Lalla Meryem, Lalla Asma, Lalla Hasna, and Prince Moulay Rachid.
Paphnutius of Thebes, also known as Paphnutius the Confessor, was a dubiously historical early Christian figure, said to be a disciple of Anthony the Great and a bishop of a city in the Upper Thebaid in the early fourth century. He is accounted by some as a prominent member of the First Council of Nicaea which took place in 325. Neither the name of his see nor the precise date of his death are known.
The sacrament of holy orders in the Catholic Church includes three orders: bishops, priests, and deacons, in decreasing order of rank, collectively comprising the clergy. In the phrase "holy orders", the word "holy" means "set apart for a sacred purpose". The word "order" designates an established civil body or corporation with a hierarchy, and ordination means legal incorporation into an order. In context, therefore, a group with a hierarchical structure that is set apart for ministry in the Church.
The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms priest refers only to presbyters and pastors. The church's doctrine also sometimes refers to all baptised (lay) members as the "common priesthood", which can be confused with the ministerial priesthood of the consecrated clergy.
Clerical celibacy is the discipline within the Catholic Church by which only unmarried men are ordained to the episcopate, to the priesthood in the Latin Church, and similarly to the diaconate. In other autonomous particular churches, the discipline applies only to the episcopate. According to Jason Berry of The New York Times, "The requirement of celibacy is not dogma; it is an ecclesiastical law that was adopted in the Middle Ages because Rome was worried that clerics' children would inherit church property and create dynasties." For several hundred years after the imposition of celibacy on secular (non-monastic/religious) clergy the sale of church offices continued. The first male issue of non-married concubines of celibate clergy became set to continue the dynasty. To curtail this clerical abuse, the Latin Church imposed a ban on the ordination of bastards. This policy ended almost 800 years later in the 20th century.
Princess Lalla Khadija of Morocco is the younger child of King Mohammed VI of Morocco and his wife, Princess Lalla Salma. Lalla Khadija's elder brother is Moulay Hassan, Crown Prince of Morocco.
Malcolm Patrick McMahon, OP, KC*HS is an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Since 2014, he has been the ninth Archbishop of Liverpool. Previously, he was Bishop of Nottingham from 2000 to 2014.
Antonio Sozzo is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See, including for twenty years as apostolic nuncio, before he retired in 2015.
Andorra 
Bahrain 
Belgium 
Bhutan 
Brunei 
Denmark 
Eswatini 
Japan 
Jordan 
Kuwait 
Lesotho 
Luxembourg 
Malaysia 
Monaco 
Netherlands 
Norway 
Oman 
Qatar 
Samoa 
Saudi Arabia 
Spain 
Sweden 
Thailand 
Tonga 
United Arab Emirates 
