I like the LDS church approach to the priesthood. They call a Bishop to serve for 5 years. The man selected is always married, usually has children and has a full time job to support his family. His responsibilities are similar to what is expected of a typical priest in a Roman Catholic parish. It typically adds another 30 to 40 hours a week of meetings to carry out the responsibility. That's on top of his full time employment. An LDS Bishop understands the realities of running a household, caring for wife and children and dealing with a real world job. It makes for a uniquely knowledgeable religious counselor. The typical 5 year service also helps in the knowledge that the burden won't be a perpetual one. One of my bishops was also employed by my company, so I ran into him on a regular basis in the cafeteria.
While the LDS approach produces some very fine bishops, there are still a few cases every year of the same types of problems currently faced by the Roman Catholic church. Allowing priests to marry and have families wouldn't be a detriment in my view. It might actually attract more men into the priesthood.
Allowing priests to marry and have families wouldn't be a detriment in my view. It might actually attract more men into the priesthood.
The number of young men coming forward for the priesthood has been rising, not falling, since 1978. That year there were fewer than 70,000 seminarians worldwide. Today there are about 110,000 - a massive increase.
Recruitment to the priesthood and celibacy do not appear to be linked. In the Church of Scotland, where there is no celibacy rule, the number of applicants to the ministry dropped by 70% between 1992 and 1999.
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