Are deacons supposed to be celibate, or not?

Hi Mason & Teo,
I was reading an article regarding the celibacy of deacons. I am a little confused. Is there a difference between a deacon and a permanent deacon? The article mentioned that “most Catholics are aware that celibacy is not demanded from the nature of the priesthood or the diaconate.” I thought otherwise. Aren’t they supposed to be celibates? (Baffled)

Dear Baffled,
The ministry of a deacon is similar to, but different from, that of a priest or bishop. A deacon is ordained and commissioned by Christ through the bishop to minister to the needy and the poor and to be a minister of Word and sacrament, working in obedience to his bishop and in close brotherhood collaboration with priests.

While all Christians are called to serve others, the deacon is an official sign of this service and he solemnly promises to be a living example of such service for others.

Transitional deacons are men who are in formation to be ordained priests. They are ordained deacons prior to priesthood while they are in the process of “transition” into priesthood.

Permanent deacons are men who are ordained deacons and remain deacons.

The church has three groups, or “orders,” of ordained ministers: bishops, priests and deacons. Deacons are ordained as a sacramental sign to the church and to the world of Christ, who came “to serve and not to be served.” Both transitional and permanent deacons share in the order of deacon.

The original meaning of “celibacy” is “unmarried.” Jesus Christ presented celibacy as a legitimate lifestyle through his teachings and by his very life. He was never married. When Jesus taught that marriage is a covenant between husband and wife, and prohibited divorce and remarriage, he closed his teaching by saying some men “have freely renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 19:12).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms that “ordained ministers, with the exception of permanent deacons, are normally chosen from among men … who live a celibate life and who intend to remain celibate ‘for the sake of the kingdom of heaven’” (CCC 1579).

Permanent deacons are best described in Paul’s first letter to Timothy (1Tim 3:8-13). “Deacons must be dignified, not deceitful, not addicted to drink, not greedy for sordid gain, holding fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. … Deacons may be married only once and must manage their children and households well. Thus those who serve well as deacons gain good standing and much confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus.”

Hence, married men can become deacons with their wife’s consent. Candidates who are married and whose spouse later dies may not marry again unless they gain a special dispensation. Single men who are ordained deacons take a promise of celibacy, similar to the priest’s promise of celibacy, and may not marry once they are ordained.

The law of clerical celibacy is a discipline, not a doctrine of the church. (There are Catholic married priests. They are usually married Protestant clergymen who become Catholic and later study for the Catholic priesthood.) Celibacy involves freedom. It cannot be demanded or forced upon someone. Just like in any relationship one cannot demand that you love them.

After much discernment, prayer and reflection, a man called to holy orders freely accepts the obligation of celibacy. Celibacy involves sacrifice, and sacrifice is an act of love. Just as in marriage, when a man and a woman marry they make the sacrifice to remain faithful to one another, and to love one another “in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health until death.”

Celibacy is a gift of God, “by which sacred ministers can adhere more easily to Christ with an undivided heart and can more freely dedicate themselves to the service of God and mankind” (Canon 277). Of course, celibacy requires the grace of God to be lived. Like chastity, the gift of celibacy is not only about keeping one’s physical desires and emotions under control, or to live as a bachelor, it is being able to say “yes” to Jesus Christ each and every day.

As Pope John Paul II once said, “it is precisely in celibacy, joyfully welcomed and protected that we in turn are called to live the truth about love in a way that is different though just as full, giving ourselves totally with Christ to God, to the Church, and to our brothers and sisters in humanity.”

As a church, we should be thankful to the bishops, priest, deacons, and religious brothers and sisters, who have made the total sacrifice of themselves out of love to serve our Lord and the church.