Ninety priests from the Arlington Diocese have sent a letter to Belleville Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), in strong support of mandatory priestly celibacy.

In the Sept. 27 letter, the priests rejected a proposal advanced by Milwaukee priests in August which called for the ordination of married men in order to generate more vocations to the priesthood.

"Common sense and historical experience indicate, however, that reducing the demands of the priesthood will not increase vocations, because lessening sacrifice never inspires men to offer their lives to Christ," the priests said. "In times of crisis, the wisdom and instinct of the Church have always been to respond with greater sacrifice, not less. What will inspire more vocations is celibacy lived well, not celibacy set aside."

Citing the Second Vatican Council, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the writings of Pope John Paul II, which have all explicitly affirmed mandatory

celibacy, the letter also called for an end to further discussion of changing the requirement, since it "only confuses the faithful and deprives the Church of the clarity needed to inspire vocations."

The signers were drawn from the priests ordained to serve in Arlington ("diocesan priests"), which includes 151 priests who are either currently serving the diocese or retired.

In an accompanying letter organizers indicated that, "It in no way represents a vote by the priests of Arlington" but rather "the decision of 90 diocesan priests to declare our support for mandatory celibacy.

The priests wanted Bishop Gregory and other bishops to know of their "devotion to this source and sign of pastoral charity" and their desire that it remain mandatory for priestly ordination.

They commended Bishop Gregory for his earlier response to the Milwaukee priests and asked God to bless his important work for Christ and His Church.