Has there ever been a study comparing the married priests of th Eastern Rite Churches with the non-married clergy of the Roman Rite?
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.
Secondly, the average RC priest in the west receives a salary of approximately $21,000/annum. To support a wife and children would require additional financial support from the congregation. If you follow the news, you already know that many Catholic Churches are closing due to poor attendance. If we cannot support a celibate priest, how could we afford a married one?
The closest we can come to a 'study' on married vs celibate priests, is the testimony made by Nasrallah Cardinal Boutros Sfeir, Patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church.
During the 2005 Vatican Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist, Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, the Maronite patriarch of Antioch in Lebanon, said that half of his diocese’s priests are married. “It must be recognized that if admitting married men resolves one problem, it creates others just as serious,” he told the synod members.
The priest’s duty to care for his wife and children, ensure their education and oversee their entry into society are among the problems Cardinal Sfeir mentioned.
“Another difficulty facing a married priest arises if he does not enjoy a good relationship with his parishioners,” he said. “His bishop cannot transfer him because of the difficulty of transferring his whole family.”
Celibacy, in fact, is “the most precious jewel in the treasury of the Catholic Church,” the cardinal declared, contrasting the practice against an impure culture. “How can celibacy be conserved in an atmosphere laden with eroticism? Newspapers, Internet, billboards, shows, everything appears shameless and constantly offends the virtue of chastity.
“If Jesus Christ wanted priests to be married,” he continued, “he would have gotten married himself.”
That last statement really sums it up.