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The very first sentence in post #9 invalidates your premise. Nyer's post makes it very clear that there is a difference. Hence, the Cardinal cannot have anything to base his claim.

Let me try and follow what you're saying.

Cardinal Sfeir says that married priests solve some problems but create others.

You say that's "fatuous" and he has "nothing upon which to base his claim" because "there are no married priests".

I point out that Cdl. Sfeir comes from a church which has married priests itself, and which has, as near neighbors, churches which have even more married priests. Therefore, the claim that Cardinal Sfeir's opinion is unfounded because "there are no married priests" is nonsense.

You respond by quoting NYer's point that divorce is more common in the West, therefore married priests in the West are more likely to divorce, and that's a problem.

So not only are there the problems with married priests Cdl. Sfeir knows about, but, as NYer notes, there are even more problems. That strengthens the Cardinal's argument and weakens yours.

Cardinal Sfeir says that married priests solve some problems but create others.

To which I replied in my post #20. that his claims are fatuous based on what happens in the eastern religions. There is no basis for study in the west.

Again, "First of all, there is a big difference between west and east. More than 50% of marriages in the west end in divorce. This is not so in the east. For a married priest to divorce would be scandal for Catholics."

Why would it necessarily be different for western priests? How can you extrapolate something that has no basis in study in the west?

You want it both ways. He comes from the east and not the west and yet YOU discount the claim by NYer that the there is a "big" difference between the two.

So not only are there the problems with married priests Cdl. Sfeir knows about, but, as NYer notes, there are even more problems. That strengthens the Cardinal's argument and weakens yours.

If you read my reasoning in #20 you will see that the claims of "problems" have never been proven nor can they be until the Church tries having married priests.

I guess it's better to have priests having sex with parishioners than their wives to the purists.