So what is wrong with a priest dedicating his life completely to Christ as a single?
What is wrong with a woman deciding to become a cloistered nun that prays for sinners?
What is wrong with becoming a member of an order (Franciscan, Carmelite, Benedictine, etc.) and putting special duties and promises at the top of your list?
FYI, there are some Anglican and Lutheran and other converts to Catholicism who have kept the married state and become priests....they are in a sense, grandfathered in. I’ve been to the ordinations of two of them, but there were ten times the single men dedicated only to God ordained on those days! I also know of a very holy priest who was divorced and then his wife died, so he entered the seminary. What’s wrong with that?
What’s wrong with it?
Nothing.
What’s wrong with a priest being married, especially since God allows for this to be the case?
Nothing is wrong with celibacy per se. That’s why use the term “mandatory” when I discuss it. Yes, seminarians voluntarily take a vow of celibacy before becoming ordained a priest. But this vow-—especially for younger priests-—is not usually practical.
Case in point: I found out a few years ago that the young priest who married my wife and I was defocked. He was having an affair with a woman he loved and was expelled from the priesthood. IMHO, he should have been permitted to marry the woman and remain in the priesthood. He was a devout Catholic and loved the priesthood.
On the positive side, I have observed in recent years that the average age of seminarians has risen dramatically. According to our pastor the average of a man entering the seminary is now 35 years old. For those who want to keep mandatory clerical celibacy in place, this should be viewed as a positive trend. These are, for the most part, older men, presumably sexually mature, most have been around the block a few times, and know full well what is expected of them. They are also subject to a full battery of psychological examinations and criminal background checks.
As I previously mentioned, we do in fact have a large number of married priests in my archdiocese, and I have NO PROBLEM WITH THIS WHATSOEVER. They are just as holy, just as dedicated as the single, celibate priests.
With respects to nuns and monks-—for the sake of keeping this discussion focused, I would like to discuss that issue separately.
What's wrong with a priest dedicating his life completely to Christ as a married man that so many Catholics so vehemently object to it, especially since it worked for over a thousand years before the Church changed its policy?
What is wrong with a woman deciding to become a cloistered nun that prays for sinners?
Because she is not out ministering to people. Jesus didn't cloister Himself nor did he ever advocate it. He went about doing good; healing the sick and feeding the hungry.
His command to us is to GO OUT and make disciples. Christianity is not about becoming cloistered and ingrown.