>>>>Several of the priests from my hometown left the priesthood. They married and had children. They are good people and many regret their loss. To bad they cannot join the priesthood as this Episcopal fellow did and work for a better world.
They made a conscious choice that the clergy was not to be their vocation. They chose marriage OVER their vocation. That is far different than what this fellow did. They can certainly work for the Church in their married state, there is no need to be a priest to make this a better world.
>>>It is time to call on Rome to stop the foolish duplicity. Either you can be married or not.
It is hardly duplicity. We also have different rites. Some attend the Maronite Rite, some the Roman Rite. Is that also duplicity? Its a discipline. The Church can adapt it to the needs of this or that community, and accordingly, it will be different in different situations.
patent
Marriage and the priesthood are not theologically, intellectually, or practically exclusive. Lay Catholics, by and large, no longer value celibacy in their priests the way they once did, especially when they see married men performing clerical duties.
They can certainly work for the Church in their married state, there is no need to be a priest to make this a better world.
This is certainly true. However, it's a shame that the Church has to "settle" for men who's first decision must be whether they can live a single life, not whether they are called to a life of service in the priesthood.
Oldironsides reaction is the reaction of every other Catholic I've ever had this discussion with.
A married convert from the Episcopal or Lutheran Church can be a priest, but not a married man who's been a lifelong Catholic.
Mandatory celibacy may continue in the Latin Rite, but it is becoming more and more indefensible.