Blue Collar Priests

Dig this blog post by Padre Peregrino, a Catholic priest. I don't know that I agree with all of it, but it's definitely thought-provoking. This bit jumped out at me right off the bat.

Jesus Christ chose twelve fishermen as His first Catholic bishops. Let that reality set in for a minute: Tough, blue-collar workers who never made it to rabbi-school were chosen as Apostles. To be sure, neither were they impious doofuses. They were tough, blue-collar workers who took their faith seriously, even when they had to say things to Our Lord like “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”—Luke 5:8. They thought in black-and-whites like that, not Hegelian greys.

That's not exactly true, they weren't all fishermen, but it's close enough. The point is, He wasn't picking the elites, he was picking masculine, working men. Being a priest is not for sissies and it's not a job for people who want an easy life. I'm not sure that it changes my mind about doing away with the celibacy requirement, but it makes you think. Also, dig these quotes, taken out of order.

• There have always been gays in the priesthood, but this blog post is a cultural evaluation of what is different about the 20th and 21st centuries. I know a 55 years old priest who claims that 60% of the priests his age are gay and 80% of the bishops are gay.
• This is not a gay-bashing blog-post. I have good friends who have struggled with same-sex attraction. Most of them were smart enough not to enter seminary or religious life. I say “smart” because it would be stupid to go live with 100 people you’re sexually attracted to for over seven years.
• Most priests and seminarians under 45 years old in the United States are straight, so things are getting better.

Bingo. For a guy, celibacy is hard enough if you're straight and only hanging out with men. It would be totally impossible if you were hanging out with women, too. For a gay dude, it's too much to ask to lock them in a seminary with lots of other gay men.

Seminaries full of gay dudes.