We are centuries late on this.

Let priests get married.

Let women be priests.

Being a priest was never easy, and should not be. And yes, priests are human and sometimes fail.

The Catholic church should not lower its standards for priests because it is too hard for some.

What next? That 'love your enemy' thing is pretty rough too. Maybe you'd recommend the church back off that one, go with "vaguely tolerate your enemies until they turn their backs then wack 'em". That would be a much more realistic standard that more people could adhere to.

I know the smell of incense is evocative, and many of you really like the rituals, but a desire to save the Catholic church from itself doesn't seem worthwhile, nor does it seem achievable. Seriously - how much of a mess will it take to get people to start to question whether it is worth the trouble? You can form your own church, and you can do all the things that are being done wrong the right way, and keep all the things that are being done right just the way they are. It has been successfully done, and repeatedly. It doesn't appear to be that hard to do with a motivated group of like-minded people.

For whatever reason American Catholics seem to prefer to wring their hands and issue calls for change that fall on deaf ears, all the while sending the church a substantial portion of its revenue which it uses to fund the programs they disagree with.

One of the things I like about the Catholic church is it really is direct and upfront about what the tenants of belief are. The Pope is God's representative on earth, and has such a direct connection to God that he is unfallible with regards to ex cathedra teachings. Even in lesser matters, it basically boils down to a simple evaluation - either one believes in the primacy of the Pope, or one doesn't.

For those that do and disagree with his proclamations - I say tough luck, and also ask why you would be so arrogant and presumptous to openly question the Pope? If God wanted you to lead, he would have made you Pope, and maybe also male if applicable.

For those who don't believe in the primacy of the Pope, I ask you why you presume to call yourselves Catholics? You are like "vegetarians" with a steak on your plate. Form your own religion for Christ-sake (both figuratively and literally).

Why doesn't Salon just create a section called "Fuck Catholics!"?

It's unbelievable. Un-fucking-believable. Substitute the word "Jewish" in the article for the word "Catholic," and see how fast your web magazine is pulled off of the internet.

”There seems to be no end to Catholic sex scandals.”

Why is this? Maybe because the media focuses on, and keeps tabs on, Catholic sex scandals? How many Jewish sex scandals have there been? How many Muslim sex scandals? How many Buddhist sex scandals? (shit, join a Sangha, and hear the stories…too countless to mention)

But no, we focus on the Catholics. Why? Gee, I wonder. Give me the statistical breakdown of Catholic Religious to lay sex crimes. Come on. Give me the statistical breakdown on infidelity, molestation, and living a lie. Tell me how the Catholic Religious compares to the average American, compares to other organized religions. Can you do that Frances Kissling? Will you do that, Frances Kissling? Be careful - you might end up calling bullshit on yourself.

Let’s take a look at this “never-ending” list:

”Sex Offender Registry: Clergy Abuse: Rabbis, Cantors and Other Trusted Officials”
http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/clergyabuse.html

You want to write an article about that? I dare you. I dare you to write an article about any other religion’s sex abuse scandal patterns, with the same rhetorical disdain you do towards Catholics.

Coming out of the closet at 82 must be painful. It is also tragic -- so much time lost hiding from yourself and others. Perhaps most touching in Weakland’s revelations is his acknowledgment of "how lonely it is to be a bishop." Or, I’d add, an ordinary priest.

How do you know it is lonely to be an ordinary Priest? Have you interviewed any? Or did you just pull this out of your ass? Do you have any empirical evidence to make such a claim? And what kind of loneliness are you talking about – spiritual loneliness? Intellectual loneliness? Emotional loneliness? Sexual loneliness?

For priests gay or straight, the strictures of celibacy have created lonely, unfulfilled and often socially inept men -- the last thing we need in religious leaders. I remember back to my own Catholic parish of the 1950s where priests were either young hunks the girls swooned over or bitter old men whom we now know were drinking themselves to death in the rectory.

Um, I have met many Catholic Priests who are much more socially sophisticated and confident than the average person. Why shouldn’t they be? Why? Because they don’t fuck? How do you know they are unfulfilled? What kind of fulfillment are you talking about? Do you know what it is to be spiritually fulfilled? Do you know what it is to walk a spiritual path? Do you have any clue about that which you write?

It got a little better after the Second Vatican Council, when religious life was reformed and some attention was paid to psychological aspects of a celibate life. Priests were encouraged to have women friends (no one talked about sex, gay or straight), but the burden of celibacy remained. Many priests left and got married or went into open gay relationships.

And many did not. So what is your point? Many med students drop out and become poets.

For many others, like Weakland, it was just too late. As he tells it, he denied his homosexuality until his relationship with Marcoux in the late 70s. He agonized over the affair and in an August 1980 letter to Marcoux, he broke off the relationship and recommitted to celibacy. He signed the letter "I love you." Makes me want to weep. In a sense, he recommitted to a life that denies our emotional responsibility to others and demands that we lie. I am sure that such self-denial distorts other decisions and contributed strongly to Weakland’s now-admitted practice of reassigning pedophile priests to other parishes, which allowed them to continue to abuse children with impunity.

This was his choice. Did the Catholic Church force him to be a Catholic Religious? Did the Catholic Church force him to live a lie? Or did he choose to? Where is his personal choice?

Your connection to self-denial, in regards to sexual urges, and re-assigning pedophile Priests to other parishes, is absurd. Absolutely absurd. Where is the evidence that celibacy “denies an emotional responsibility to others and demands that we lie?” Do you say this of Buddhist monks? Say it. I dare you. Because Buddhist monks are celibate. Did you know that? So the next time you and your friends go ga-ga over the Dalai Lama, remind them that he commits to a life that denies his emotional responsibility to others. You are an idiot, Frances Kissling.

Weakland’s remarks on this matter indicate he has not yet come to grips with the damage he did.

I can think of at least two other bishops (both cardinals) and countless priests who have gone through similar anguish and, like Weakland, gave up the lover and recommitted to celibacy. One mellowed and grew as a humble human being, as it seems has Weakland. The other became a judgmental prick. We’d all be better off if priests and bishops did not have to choose between their love for the church and their love for a partner. Mandatory celibacy too often destroys the priest and in turn those he serves. Time to get rid of it.

Too often? How do you figure?

All spiritual traditions, the world over, respect the decision of celibacy. From the Hindus and Yogis to the Native American shamans. Your article is full of wrong assumptions, unjustified conclusions, and a pathetically un-sophisticated understanding of the Spiritual Path.

But I am sure this means nothing to you, and nothing to Salon.com.