I had a liberal friend who used to claim that once gay marriage was legal priests would no longer do this.
I don’t know how your friend concluded that. If priests can’t marry, then it would make no difference if homosexuals pretending to be married was legal.
I was talking about this yesterday with a few friends. I still say that not allowing priests to marry set the church up for a disaster.
Years ago, if I was a homosexual who did not want anyone to know, becoming a priest would be the perfect choice. Nobody questions why you aren’t married, you are in a job for life with a position of respect, honour, and total trust. Then you have access to children who look up to you and trust you as well. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.