[hoyt-clagwell]

Catholic Church needs to allow priest to marry. My wife and I are Catholic. She remarked a few months back the latest young priest look like the church is picking from the "bottom of the barrel" of males so to speak. What young male wants to be celibate unless he has issues?

Nun's have the highest rates of breast and ovarian cancer due to never having children.

Like Bones on Star Trek say's "BARBARIC"!!!

[frogjerk]

Catholic Church needs to allow priest to marry. My wife and I are Catholic. She remarked a few months back the latest young priest look like the church is picking from the "bottom of the barrel" of males so to speak. What young male wants to be celibate unless he has issues?

So Jesus believes that those that remain celibate for the Kingdom of Heaven "have issues?"

[GCC Catholic]

Catholic Church needs to allow priest to marry. My wife and I are Catholic. She remarked a few months back the latest young priest look like the church is picking from the "bottom of the barrel" of males so to speak.

Respectfully, I would ask you to reconsider your position.

Remember that the priests of the Church have a great many responsibilities in serving their parishes - they have to be available 24/7/365 for the people of God for the rest of the time they are humanly able. For a priest to be married would force him to split his loyalties between the people of his parish and his family - this wouldn't be fair to either. Likewise, it wouldn't be healthy for either.

The seminarian knows that he is giving up something good - marriage and a family - for something that is also good - serving God and His Church. It is made eminently clear in the 6-8 years of formation that seminarians go through before they are ordained, and great care is taken that men are not taking a vow to celibacy lightly. (I would grant, however, that much of this great care has been in response to problems that have become legion in the last 50 years.)

I am curious as to what your wife means when she refers to this young priest as one picked "from the bottom of the barrel?" The men who I know that are in seminary formation are excellent men - some who have come straight out of seminary, others who have studied in numerous fields ranging from history to engineering, and still others who have worked as doctors, lawyers, engineers, and still others who have served in the military. Certainly, some seminarians have rough edges... but smoothing those is also part of that formation.

I know these men, because I am one of them.

And we are being prepared to give our lives in service to Jesus Christ fully and completely - including the vow of celibacy. We realize how important it is... even though there is the bitterness of not having a family, it is consoled by the anticipation of being a father to the People of God entrusted to our care.

Please, please, please make an effort to get to know some of us before labeling us as defective!

[Vigilanteman]

I'm curious as to when the celibacy requirement was added for priests. I'm a direct descendant of Cardinal Woosley. I've met other people who are as well, not just at family reunions.

From what I've read of the Cardinal, he was actually a fairly decent guy who just got too enamored with his position and the perks of power under Henry VIII. When Henry demoted him for political reasons near the end of his life, he actually begin rediscovering the joys of ministerial service.