[sinkspur]

Everybody needs to chill.

Eliminating pedophiles won't fix the problem. Eliminating gays (and intimating that gays cannot be validly ordained, when they've been validly ordained for centuries) is equally nonsensical.

Many on this forum ridicule the only solution that will have a short-term effect, which is to ordain married men. The Church will have a larger pool of candidates from which to choose, thus giving bishops the freedom to reject those unsuitable. Let's face it folks: only a masochist would enter a seminary today, when even straight-arrow priests are ashamed to wear their collars in public.

Cynically, a married priesthood would also give the Church cover in allowing more lay involvement in choosing just who, and who will not, become priests.

I've always felt our Protestant brethren have a much better system wherein congregations have at least a major say in who will serve them.

[BlackElk]

Your last two paragraphs are probably the nub of our disareement. It is the very essence of AmChurch misbehavior to involve more lay people in the decision-making or governance of the Church. We are not a democracy. We must never be a democracy. It is time and long past time for Rome to bring AmChurch to heel. Calling priests according to the moral or even stylistic preferences of the congregation is a guarantee that we will no longer be one, universal, catholic Church.

[ProtectRUnborn]

"I've always felt our Protestant brethren have a much better system wherein congregations have at least a major say in who will serve them."

The Catholic Church is not now, nor has it ever been a democracy. Thankfully, the Church does not compromise her long standing doctrines and traditions just because a vocal minority of theologically ignorant americans, want it to.

BTW if your "feelings" are that strong then go join the protestants. Their diminishing ranks could use it.