Ah, then I misinterpreted your earlier comment—apologies. Yeah, at least as far as my cursory review of the Vatican II norms goes, the celibacy requirement only applies to widowed deacons, not their wives.
(And I think we read that same canonist, but it quickly went over my head, and even he acknowledged that the exact interpretation of that canon has not been formally settled.)
Ah, then I misinterpreted your earlier comment—apologies. Yeah, at least as far as my cursory review of the Vatican II norms goes, the celibacy requirement only applies to widowed deacons, not their wives.
(And I think we read that same canonist, but it quickly went over my head, and even he acknowledged that the exact interpretation of that canon has not been formally settled.)
From what I've read about the early Church, I wouldn't be surprised if they had such a requirement and applied it to deacons' wives. Continence was considerably more highly regarded then, and second marriages by anyone and for any reason were often looked down at to some extent (something some Eastern Catholics and/or Orthodox retain). The early Church problem seemed more to be preventing pride on the part of the continent then getting people to consider it at all, or to live it afterwards.
Ah, then I misinterpreted your earlier comment—apologies. Yeah, at least as far as my cursory review of the Vatican II norms goes, the celibacy requirement only applies to widowed deacons, not their wives.
(And I think we read that same canonist, but it quickly went over my head, and even he acknowledged that the exact interpretation of that canon has not been formally settled.)
From what I've read about the early Church, I wouldn't be surprised if they had such a requirement and applied it to deacons' wives. Continence was considerably more highly regarded then, and second marriages by anyone and for any reason were often looked down at to some extent (something some Eastern Catholics and/or Orthodox retain). The early Church problem seemed more to be preventing pride on the part of the continent then getting people to consider it at all, or to live it afterwards.