[enchantmentadm]

As Jannet's article points out, priestly celibacy was not suddenly invented in the 11th century, even if it was not strictly required until then. I will not go into detail here, since this was discussed many times on the old CM forums. However, a good modern defense of celibacy is a book by Cardinal Sarah and Pope Benedict entitled "From the Depths of Our Hearts." It is published by Ignatius Press. This book outlines the theological reasons for maintaining celibacy. There are practical reasons as well. As pointed out above, priests with wives and families will be more expensive to maintain. Are you willing to donate two or three times as much as you are now? Also, it will be hard for priests to meet the demands of both their parish and their families. In fact, many Protestant ministers wish they had celibacy for this reason. Of course, there can be exceptions as suggested above. Eastern rite priests should be allowed to marry, if they declare this intention prior to ordination. This is in line with the Vatican II document mandating that eastern rites be restored to their full ancestral traditions.