[Alberta's Child]

In this era of "returning to one's roots", it may not be a bad idea.

Priestly celibacy has its advantages even today. I read an article a few months ago about how various clergy members carried out their duties in Eastern Europe during the Cold War. The article made a very interesting point -- the members of the Eastern Orthodox clergy were able to resist the Communist governments as well as the Catholic clergy was, but once these governments started pressuring their families the Eastern Orthodox clergy abdicated in the face of the pressure.

As a result, the Catholic Church in Europe became the sole pillar of strength against Communism after World War II.

[Pyro7480]

That's a good point concerning the families of the Eastern Orthodox priests. Just as many people have said, I think that the decline of people being called to the priesthood in the United States, added to rise of the "sexual revolution," has led to unfortunate effects, the worst being that there is a sizeable number of homosexual and pedophile priests.