[ArrogantBustard]

Are the Byzantines, Melkites, Syrians, etc. "a step downward"? I'll have to tell my Melkite Catholic Priest friend you said that. I'm sure he'll be amused.

Within the context of the Latin Rite (and with the exception for converted Anglicans) I would see it as capitulating to the bad guys, and as totally unnecessary for reversing the "priest shortage". A return to radical orthodoxy in the seminaries, and a removal from office of the heterodox nuns in the vocations bureaucracies would be much more to the point.

[k omalley]

"heterodox nuns in the vocations bureaucracies"

Were you around in the days when nuns were pillars of orthodoxy and feared and respected. Its a shame that the term "nun" now conjures up the image of a heretical flake.

[Tuco Ramirez]

I would think that they're a step "upward" at this point; they've preserved the truth better than the West. Some of their practices/customs will never fly well in the US (such as those that have the genders sit separately in the Church), but that doesn't weaken their message.

[dsc]

"Are the Byzantines, Melkites, Syrians, etc. "a step downward"? I'll have to tell my Melkite Catholic Priest friend you said that. I'm sure he'll be amused."

Fine, let him be amused. Celibate men can give more to the Church than married men, just as celibate nuns can give more than married women.

A celibate priesthood and other holy orders are better for that reason alone, without even getting into the implications of a willingness to make that sacrifice.

Consider, too, that the discipline of celibacy frees up a lot of time that can be used in prayer, study, contemplation, or other activities that make a man a better priest.

I actually feel sorry for rites and denominations that don't have celibate priests.