I am genuinely curious...if both options are indeed acceptable, why is there such fierce resistance to allowing married priests? Surely the church does not beleive that married men are not called to serve?
The fact is, married men in the Catholic Church can serve as deacons.
Deacons in the Catholic Church do pretty much everything a pastor is expected to do in Reformed congregations: read the Scriptures to the congregation, preach to the congregation, baptize new Christians, conduct prayer services and Scripture studies, officiate at weddings, visit the sick, counsel congregants, lead choirs, etc.
There are two things that only priests are allowed to do that deacons cannot: offer the Eucharistic sacrifice on the altar and give absolution in the confessional - two things that Reformed Christians don't even believe in.
Married men in the Catholic Church can take a very active pastoral role if they choose to.