The celibate cleric can devote 100% of his time to his
*parishioners' needs,
*the usual fund raising,
*the vicarage upkeep (painting, plumbing, gardening etc.)
*marital spats of his parishioners,
*any domestic abuse he may get wind of,
*wayward teens,
*possessions by demoniacs (I had to throw that in.)
*spiritual crises
*alcohol and drug problems
*sudden catastrophe in a parishioner's life
*counseling the despairing families, battling spouses, drug/alcohol problems, recently widowed, family deaths,
*referring problems of any kind to specialists, ETC.
AND SO MUCH MORE that may come up.
SOMETIMES the married vicar may have BOTH a parishioner and family crisis at the same time. Who gets his attention first and the most? He has to CHOOSE, doesn't he?
A priest doesn't have to choose between wife/family and his parishioners because he is single -- so he can be FREE to be serve all his parishioners...that's why he is "Father" Jones.
It's a pretty good deal for someone who's selfish. They don't know what their married parishioners are going through then. There's nothing like experiencing something to give you compassion and understanding for others in the same situation.
Nobody said a single person couldn't be in a good position to serve.
OTOH, that does not by default mean that a married person is not in a good position to serve.
God Himself said that it is not good for man to be alone.
All your rationalizations as to why celibacy is superior are just that. Rationalizations.
And a pastor/priest should have to worry about fund raising? Really?
Catholic human logic is not equal to scripture...Paul says a bishop must have a wife and family to prove that he is capable of providing sufficient counseling to the flock...Why disagree with what scripture says???