Celibacy

The issue of celibacy for priests is really silly. It was first required by the Second Lateran Council in 1139 -- that is they declared clerical marriages invalid -- because they did not want the children of priests to inherit church property. St. Peter, the first pope, was married and to suggest there is an theological foundation is simpy fallacious. Lawrence Young, in Full Pews and Empty Altars, predicts the Catholic Church will lose another 16,000 priests by 2015. More than 3,000 parishes in this country have no full-time priest currently. Time for Benedict to wake up and smell the coffee.