[papertyger]

How do you explain then the MARRIED minister who would push the same argument as your wife and your pastor, as many seem to do, today?

I don't.

Please do not mistake the example for the issue for which we were meeting. I believe my priest is deferring to popular culture in a matter on which he has insufficient training, as well as no native experience.

i expect he would perfectly capable of correctly articulating the Church's more esoteric positions, regardless of how out of the mainstream they were.

I have little reason to believe the married minister is similarly insulated from pop culture.

[Cronos]

Perhaps the easier way is to expand on the Anglican Ordinariate -- making it a full rite which allows married priests, just like all the other non-Latin Catholic rites.

There are places (like diocesan priests) where I see married priests as having some value (and also pitfalls like gossip about the nice dress the priest's wife is wearing and how are his kids acting, etc. etc.), and others like in on-field missionary work where celibacy would be invaluable.