Cardinal Beniamino Stella, who has been Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy since 2013, affirmed the value of clerical celibacy. “The topic of the celibate life of the priest regularly receives attention for the fact that it is a ‘sign of contradiction’ in respect to the world’s mentality,” he said. “The same is true with a marriage that is faithful, indissoluble and open to life.”