I returned home from a two-week, 12-state vacation on the East Coast from Massachusetts to Georgia, marked by four days in Washington, D.C., experiencing Philadelphia, winding through the Smoky Mountains, long drives through new England and time in Pennsylvania Dutch country near Lancaster, Pa.I was gone during the publication of my column about the ordination of six new priests on June 2 at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral in Phoenix. There was strong reaction both ways. I struck a nerve suggesting the weak response of men to seminaries and the priesthood may be due, in large part, to church celibacy requirements and Catholic males feeling more called to marriage and fatherhood.Priests and laity wrote at length to correct me. In short, I had overlooked that God was in the middle of the whole matter, so the priest shortage is his mysterious way. We believe the Holy Spirit is acting in our church and that what is happening is for a reason, said Paul Kelley, a lay Catholic from Tempe. Perhaps the Holy Spirit is telling us we are praying too little or too selfishly, or that parents should again tell their sons that the priesthood is a wonderful vocation, instead of pushing them to become successful doctors, lawyers and Wall Street tycoons.Kelley said the Catholic Church is not alone in a shortage of clergy. He cited the president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations that its vocations crisis is the most serious issue facing rabbis now. He noted how Protestants annual reports are full of almost frightening and nearly identical situations growth is minimal if not negative, vocations are down, increasing numbers of churches go without a pastor.In that column, I gave a barb to the Diocese of Phoenix for inviting me to the ordination, then having no place to seat me (later deemed miscommunications) and I had to scramble to find a seat in the balcony. One angry reader said I should not have been there in the first place (even many of the Catholic faithful are unable to get in). Curtly, the writer told me, Even you would have to agree that an invitation to you would be like inviting Margaret Sanger (founder of what became Planned Parenthood) to a pro-life rally. Either you know not what you do, or you, too, have an agenda or vendetta, he wrote. In that writers rant, he said, You cannot get rid of or remake the Catholic Church. Catholic Christians, from popes to theologians to scandalous priests, have tried to do that from within (fighting) a never-ending war with the devil to promote dissent and heresy.Another man named Frank said I should never have been at the event, and I am narrow-minded and opinionated to boot. One reader who physically couldnt climb the steps to the cathedrals balcony for the event lamented that she sat on the main floor and her view was blocked by peoples heads. The point of her remarks was that the idea of married clergy always seems like the quick fix but being a husband and father while being a pastor is problematic. While growing up, she said she would have never wanted to marry a pastor, and she felt sorry for pastors wives who seemingly must be able to sing on key, play the piano and do so much more to support their work. Celibacy may not be popular but it does leave the man or woman (religious) with a 24/7 time frame to serve the Lord without family responsibilities. Either way, the Lord is honored with a gift.The Rev. William Mitchell, a priest for 58 years, thoughtfully told me that celibacy isnt what dissuades men from seminaries. He recalled how six decades ago six lads in a two-block section of Chicago chose the priesthood. I think it is todays culture that is making it difficult for many to hear Gods call. And call he does! But our society makes it quite difficult to respond positively. We are very materialistic and drowning in sex and pleasures. He goes on, .As I look back, I see how meaningful and workable my celibate life has been. It is not for the weak. Hard at times? Yes, but quite rewarding..So my 2,000-year-old church made the call case settled.

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