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>During the brief homily, the priest mentioned in passing that he had been up all night with a parishioner’s child who was dying of meningitis. A light bulb went off over my friend’s head: You can’t do both.

A foolish choice of example and argument.

Is attending to ill children so all consuming that physicians cannot be married? Certainly the immediate and knowledgeable actions of a physician play a vitally important role in the life and survival of the child in question.

Are police officers forbidden to marry so their minds will not be on raising children or sex with the spouse if they are forced into a sudden and unexpected gun battle with a criminal.

Must airline pilots flying 400 people over an iceberg filled North Atlantic be celibate? Actually, most usually are, at least for the duration of the flight.

Are Baptist, Presbyterian and Episcopal priests less effective because they are married? Roman Catholics may choose to debate theology with the Protestants, but dedication, I think not.

Finally, George Bush has the future of the non-Muslam world in his hands. I hope he is cuddled up with Laura every night. In fact, given the choice of having one of our leaders be celibate or having a good roll in the hay with the wife or girlfriend before they have to make a critical decision, I'll go with the horizontal mambo every time.

I don't want some horny guy making troop deployment decisions.