Ake, the Catholic Church sees celibate priests as better servants to their community because they can work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for a salary that wouldn't support a family.

I've fought against the celibacy rule all my life, so your suggestion that "this would be a good time to start" is moot.

I said that our young neoconservative priests see celibacy as a gift, while priests my age tend to see it as a burden. Our neoconservatives are trying to hearken back to an ideal Catholic Church of the 1950s that never really existed. They tend to have a very unrealistic view of life and sexuality. I did battle with some of these Young Conservatives in a class last summer, and got myself reported to the bishop's office. No action was taken against me, although I was subjected to a flood of platitudes about how I should learn to tolerate (and respect) these young priests who are the "future of the Church." Bullshit.

-Joe-