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Who better to advise you on your life and your family than a man who has one? Im glad to be an episcopalian where priests can marry and have families (and can even be women).

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Before I became more involved w/my parish, I thought the celibacy thing was stupid. Now, I see what our parish priests do and I think it would be difficult to be married and have a family. Unlike a lot of their Protestant pals, the priests are on call about as much as a human organ transplant doc. Our parish has twice daily mass during the week, 3x on Saturday and 5x on Sunday. Add that to ministering to the sick and dying, confessions, the practical aspects of running a parish, you are looking at an 80+ hour work week -- all for the bargain price of $30k salary or so here in Fairfield County.

Catholics would have to expect a lot less services from our priests if we'd allow them to marry and have families. What we demand of them now is not conducive to having a family.

Plus, there is a role for married clergy in our faith -- being a deacon. Deacons can do most of what a parish priest can do without quite the same responsibilities or time demands.

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It's all about the dollars. What's the best way to secure an inheritance will not pass down to another generation? Uh, eliminate the next generation via celibacy. In olden times, the clergy were usually the younger son or daughter from a wealthy family who could not have a strong marriage connection, but could have a successful career in the church. So, all that money left to the inheritor would pass in church coffers if there was no other heir.

Oh yeah and all that other stuff about being "married" to Jesus, a bride of Christ for women, a man of G-d for the men. Keep 'em in line.

Personally, I think the rule may attract people who want to avoid intimacy or their sexuality, thus attracting a certain type of person looking to bail out on life. Hence the tendency of a generation or two back, where there were lots of gay priests. If they were from a religious family, you don't come out, you join an all men's organization.

Anywho, celibacy for some people is a real choice, and the clergy is a good fit. But the vast majority of people are not made for a non-sexual life. I go back and forth. On the one hand, there's over-population, we can handle (as a society) more than a few celibate members. On the other hand, this rule has kinda outlived it's original intent. Vatican is flush with cash, we all know that. Have married clergy and be done with it.

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One critique- Couldn't you have worked in a few jokes about the Pope's recent remarks about condom use?

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"Escandalo!!"

Thank you. Also, what the hell kind of GD outfit is that?

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