There are strong arguments for celibacy as a discipline that strengthens the man who succeeds in becoming one of those “chosen.” It is like a boot camp for learning the self sacrifice of Christ. There are other ways to get the boot camp.
The Church has had many traditions that have gone by the wayside of history. One of them was the marriage of priests. It was not until the eleventh century that the Second Lateran Council laid down in writing for the first time that priests should not marry nor have sex. It established that clerical celibacy became effectively obligatory. What I would like to see is this mandate become a matter of choice. We have church deacons who are married that are very effective in the church. Why not offer them the seminary training and let them become priests?
It has been found that when Pope Benedict XVI allowed married Lutheran and Anglican clergy to become Catholic priests, they were found to be very effective priests. Why not learn from this lesson? There has to be ways to train a priest how to become the Bride of Christ in a non symbolic manner without the indoctrination process it has used throughout the centuries.
Revisionist history.
It has been found that when Pope Benedict XVI allowed married Lutheran and Anglican clergy to become Catholic priests, they were found to be very effective priests.
More revisionist history. The Pastoral Provision for Anglican converts and the dispensation from celibacy for other protestant converts was the work of Blessed Pope John Paul II, not Benedict XVI. Benedict XVI simply continued the policies of his predecessor and expanded it with his Personal Ordinariate for entire groups of Anglicans in Great Britain, Wales and the United States. You fail to note that prior to ordination, said converts must agree that if their spouse precedes them in death they will then adopt the discipline of celibacy for the rest of their life. No agreement, no ordination. Also, for want of a better term, the career path of these converts is extremely limited.
Yes, married Deacons are effective, my Father-in-law was one, and my Brother-in-Law is, as well. However, their FIRST priority is, and always will be, their families. Deacon candidates's wives go through the program with the men, so that they have full knowledge of what their husband's duties will mean for their families, and the men do NOT get ordained without the express permission of their wives.
An unmarried priesthood means that the mens' responsibilities will be first and foremost to the people of the Church, and won't have the distraction, or the divided loyalty, if you will, of a man with a family. There have been some ordained Deacons who have entered the priesthood after the death of their wives.
As for the Clergy who have entered the Church as married men, I don't believe they are made Pastors, for the same reason that married ordained Deacons are not made priests; their first responsibilities are to their wives and families.