Married? No. Laid? Yes.
A sad joke among writers is that the loneliest, most unfortunate person in the world is the woman who marries a writer. Many writers (and other artists) are so dedicated to their work that the wife is often reduced to a vital support tool.
This is, of course, a result of the fact that the wife is the
second love of the artist. That is, artists often choose to devote more and better energies to art than they do to human relationships.
However, in the case of a priest, it's kind of like a doctor. You are undertaking an office whereby people need access to you. Can you imagine dropping someone in the middle of confession because you need to go get that pound of butter your wife asked for? After all, the cookies are waiting ....
Can you, as a priest, really go out and counsel others while your wife is having sex with the Father Superior of your order? (You know, he's just
so dark and mysterious under that cowl.)
The practical necessities of marriage are incompatible with priesthood.
Personally, I think we should bring back limited indulgences to award to temple prostitutes. Serve a couple years as a bellywarmer for the priests and ... oh, well, that doesn't go well with birth control, either, does it?
Hmmm ...
It was a noble idea to bring about celibacy in the priesthood, but we see its deeper effects in society. Perhaps that shows the impracticality of religious commitments in the face of real life and the actual living experience.
The best solution would be if there was no more Catholic clergy whatsoever. It's become so big that it's all abstractions and dogma. Dissolve Catholocism and all formal religions, and I think you'll get a better result overall than you're getting today.
But yeah, those priests need to be able to get off now and then.
thanx,
Tiassa
