04/26/2005: "I forgot the hat tip"

Hat tip for the below article goes to Greg Krehbiel at crowhill.net. Here is the comment I made to his post:

Before I rip into it, I agree Greg that this was a very charitably written article and for this he should be commended. That said:

I'm a big believer in the value of a celebate priesthood. Any time someone asks a question like "Will young boys learn to respect and venerate women if they never witness the dignified affection between a priest and his bride?" my initial response to just about any of them is that the Catholic Church has successfully transmitted the faith through a celebate priesthood for a good millenium. What changed?

In my humble opinion any successful argument for a married priesthood needs to argue two points:

1. Something has changed that either should not (maybe the new situation is better) or can not be rectified.
2. That a married priesthood is a either a necessary response or will have benefits in the new situation that outweigh the downsides both traditional and as a result of the new situation.

I don't think Rabbi Boteach met those criteria. Additionally I think he puts too little value in the companionship of God. I submit that Pope John Paul would never have considered himself lonely, much less extremely so. The companionship of God exceeds in value the companionship of any human, spousal or otherwise. All we need to do is tap into it, which is a difficult task for us worldly people to do.

I'll be commenting on this article in more depth on my blog. Thanks for bring it to our attention Greg!