Why aren Catholic priests allowed to be married?
Actually, some Catholic priests are allowed to be married. We often forget in the West that there are many Eastern rite Catholic Churches (that is, Churches of the East in full communion with the pope) that have married priests. They are no less Catholic priests than priests of the Roman rite, which maintains a celibate priesthood. Furthermore, in some cases, married priests from other denominations (Anglican, for example) who convert to the Catholic faith are able to be ordained as married priests in the Roman rite. Thus celibacy isn’t essential to a valid priesthood. It’s simply a discipline upheld in the Western Church in order to conform more closely to the example of Christ. Christ was not married to one particular woman because he came to marry the whole human race. The Church is his eternal Bride. Ordained priests become a sacrament of Christ. They make the love of the heavenly Bridegroom efficaciously present to the Church, particularly in the Eucharistic sacrifice. Acting in t
