RE: I appreciate tradition, but this non-Catholic think it would not be bad if priests could marry.
Can you elaborate?
I would tend to agree with SoFloFreeper on this; it would not be a bad idea to allow priests to marry. The reason I have is a pragmatic one. Catholics, like most other Christians, often look to the priest for guidance in their lives. One aspect of our lives that often presents difficult situations is our relationships with our spouses. A married priest is more likely to have a better understanding of marital problems than an unmarried, celibate one. Some things cannot be learned in seminary, but only by experience.
If I am not mistaken, in the Orthodox rite, priests aspiring to leadership positions in the church hierarchy are NOT allowed to be married, but those who are the equivalent of the parish priests in the Roman rite are. I would think such a rule would work well for the Roman rite as well.
I just think it would help keep the temptation at bay—the scandal of the priests is a tragedy...ruined lives, children traumatized, not to mention the spiritual degradation of the people involved. Of course it isn’t a cure all; there are sexual and moral failing within the non-Roman Christian bodies as well. I do believe it addresses a necessary human need—sexual satisfaction—and would save a lot of heartache.
I am not Catholic—in fact I disagree with the theology thereof...BUT I also think the RCC has a lot of honest Christ followers in her, and what is good for one part of the church is good for the entire “catholic” (not Roman) body.
I am not a liberal either. :)