This is a rather concise thread, and I wanted to express my honest views on the situation.
When I grew up, a family that were good friends mother was the daughter of a priest. He was a missionary from Hungary. He had several children that never left Hungary, so they never met their younger siblings who were all born and stayed over here. It was only a few years before this woman, Mary Ann died, that she met all of her siblings. At any rate, the Catholic Church has always had married priests.
Who Are Married Catholic Priests?
Most married Catholic priests are part of the Eastern Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern Rite, who can be found in places like the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, the Ukraine, and other nations along the border between Western and Eastern Christianity. These churches are under the jurisdiction of the Vatican and they recognize the authority of the pope; however, their practices and traditions are much closer to those of the Eastern Orthodox Churches. One of those traditions is allowing priests to marry.
Some estimates place the number of married priests at around 20% of all Catholic priests in the world. This would mean that 20% of all Catholic priests are officially and legally married, even though celibacy continues to be a requirement. But marriage is not limited to priests who are part of the Eastern Catholic Churches — we can also find about 100 Catholic priests in America who are married and who are part of the Western Catholicism that comes to mind when most think of Catholicism.
Why are they married? They got married while serving as priests in other Christian denominations, usually the Anglican or Lutheran churches. If such a priest decides that he would be better off within Catholicism, he can apply to a local bishop who then submits a special application to the pope, with decisions being made on a case-by-case basis. If accepted, he is certainly not expected to get divorced or otherwise separate from his spouse, so his wife comes right along as well. This exception to the celibacy rule was created on July 22, 1980.
Thus, a current Catholic priest who wants to get married must choose between marriage and the priesthood (even though celibacy isn't an essential feature of being a priest), while a married Lutheran priest can apply to become a Catholic priest and keep his wife — he doesn't have to choose. Naturally, this causes some hard feelings for those Catholic priests who leave the clergy in order to pursue marriage; yet others are hoping that the presence of such married priests will eventually allow priests who have left to marry to eventually return.
Former priests who marry are currently allowed to do some things for the Catholic Church, but not everything — and with the growing shortage of priests in the United States (the number of priests has declined by 17% since the 1960s, even as the Catholic population has increased 38%), the church may be forced to tap this resource. It's a natural conclusion, after all, because they are experienced and many are eager (and there are around 25,000 of them). That, however, will require dropping mandatory celibacy — it doesn't make any sense to require priests to be celibate if they can get around the rule by simply leaving, marrying, and then coming back.
Much of what we have been taught may not be exactly like what we think. Much of the workings of the church have been much like what we are now finding to be true of all political machines. Not to say there is not a sacred side of The Church, but in addition, there is a real human and political side.
It the early days of the Christian Church, those that managed the household usually celebrated the Eucharist, that would have made women celebrants very common. Speaking of common, at this time the church was a church of the common man and woman.
At the time of the great misogynistic purges of doctrine, literature, and dogma, when the memory of the Magdalene was assassinated, the role of women in the church was reduced. The next time that the common man's role was further reduced was at the hand of Charlemagne; so as the confluence of the political power (Kings) and ecclesiastical power (Popes) began to merge, the power of the common man diminished even further. Women were excluded from virtually any level of service, priestly service became regimented, indoctrinated, and removed to the world of the educated and gifted. The Eucharist was removed from the every day common worshipers presence, and that all ended in the practice of indulgences and inquisitions.
That lasted for a while. Few studies show how closely the Church came to toppling, but if the Carthars or Huguenots had triumphed in that narrow three hundred year period, the Catholic Church could have toppled then. Instead, those that left and started their own churches, all opted for married clergy and the involvement of commoners in complete liturgical practice.
At this time they took the Pope's army away, so he became a much nicer guy. People became more involved in Catholic liturgy, and religious orders, including orders for women, (nuns) flourished.
Headed back to modern times and the conversation at hand, Whiskey I appreciate your point, and much of what the article you posted stated, but I find the main premise of the article a non sequitur; there are fewer Anglicans because nobody wants to be an Anglican, not because of their views on sexuality. Being a WASP is no longer popular, and you don't get a country club membership for being a member of the church anymore. Further, everything from the forced tithe payments, to the force pledges of allegiance forced upon the Irish and others are also long gone! Finally, if that all weren't bad enough, WASPS just are not having kids! They have been in a negative growth rate for over thirty years! Of course their church is shrinking.
And don't look now, so is the Catholic Church. Why? A big part is the advent of the American mega-electronic&TV-evangelic churches. Go to Sunday worship, and watch TV! It is so much easier that choosing a path that may lead to moral and spiritual development!
