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The sacerdotal privilege of offering the sacrifice of the Mass and presiding over the transubstantiation of the Eucharist surely runs a poor second to the physical affection, intimacy of heart and mind that comes from absolute commitment to and union with a mere mortal as opposed to Christ?

Ask the nearly 100 converts from Anglicanism to Catholicism who are both priests AND married.

Celibacy is not a theological requirement for the Catholic priesthood, and none of your usual contortions you try to wrap around it will make it so.

The Church is bending its celibacy requirement, and will bend it more in the future.

Your marriage has the substantively life-changing effect on others that the Eucharist or charism of a Holy Order does?

I don't know. Ask my two grown boys.

The Church is bending its celibacy requirement, and will bend it more in the future.

I see, still wrong about your favorite subject. I don't know to which "Church" you refer, but it's not the true Roman Catholic Church. Perhaps, "Catholics for a Free Choice" will agree with you - you know, that group that's putting up the ads for condoms? They like to make their own rules, too.

"Hello, dear, have a hard time at Mass today?"

"The kids are driving me nuts. You've got to do sometlhing about that son of yours. He's getting to be a real discipline problem. You never spend any time with him, your Catechism kids get more attention than he does."

"Mrs. McNeil called, she wants you to make a sick call, but we've got to have dinner with the Prior and his wife. I can't stand her, but..."

"And that hot, blonde babe called again and wants a conference to discuss her so-called problems. Yeh, sure. Stay away from her or else."

"Hear anything good in the Confessional today? Loved that story you told me about that guy last week...funny as heck."

"How do you expect me to run a house on the pay you get? You'd better find a part-time job. I'm tired of all this scrimping and scraping."

"When are you going to get a vasectomy? I don't want any more kids and look around you, rhythm doesn't work and it's so unspontaneous."

Well for Pete's sake ... you'd BEST be perfecting your wife (and she you) as you BOTH perfect the children with which your marriage has been blessed.

Those are the heat-seeking missiles you're sending out into the world. You're primarily responsible for forming their consciences such that they're "true" ... not only hitting the target but hitting the right targets.

I just don't see how you can belittle somehow the priests (or the monk's or the nun's) similarly absolute devotion to Christ as bridegroom, the Church as mother and ALL individuals as brothers, sisters and children in Christ.

Married priests is like working mothers. I'm delighted some can appear to handle the balancing act but, given my choice, I'd rather have EITHER a mother OR a business associate rather than having some woman who's perpetually borrowing from Peter to pay Paul and vice versa.