[tflabo]

In the Old Testament the priests would marry and the eunuchs were celibate of course by design for their specific functions. In my opinion let Catholic priests choose the option and let the Monks and Fraternal Orders be the designated celibate ones.

[Campion]

Old Testament priests were married but were not permitted to cohabitate with or otherwise touch their wives during their actual "course" of priestly service in the temple. (I forget how long those were ... two months or something?)

The original Christian practice was that priests could not be intimate with their wives the night before they offered the Holy Sacrifice. The Orthodox traditionally celebrate the Divine Liturgy only on Sundays (and very important feast days, but those are few). The Catholic tradition is to celebrate the Divine Liturgy 364 days a year (and the other day is a fast day anyway). You can see the obvious problem ...