including spousal lovemaking -RRB- is a sacrament -- something sacred that contributes to the sanctity of husbands and wives . In light of this official teaching , it is dawning on many Catholics that mandatory celibacy for priests , a canonically imposed discipline of the church , is precisely that -- a discipline . They are asking , `` How is it that a discipline of the church has been allowed to trump a sacrament of the church ? '' In effect , the church is saying that should God call a man to the priesthood , God will not , at the same time , call that individual to the sacrament of marriage . It 's right to ask , how does the church know this ? Public opinion surveys indicate that most Catholics , priests included , believe the discipline of celibacy needs a serious review . Recently the retired archbishop of New York , Cardinal Edward Egan , observed that obligatory celibacy is open for discussion . It is not , Egan noted , a matter of dogma . For decades now , bishops from Asia , Europe and the Americas have asked Vatican officials to consider
Editor 's note : The Rev. Donald Cozzens is writer in residence and adjunct professor of theology at John Carroll University in Cleveland , Ohio . A priest of the Diocese of Cleveland with a doctoral degree , he is the author of several books on the Catholic Church , including `` Sacred Silence : Denial and the Crisis in the Church '' and `` Freeing Celibacy , '' both published by Liturgical Press . For another view on this topic , read here . The Rev. Donald Cozzens says the debate over celibacy for priests will be around for decades . -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- It 's an issue that simply wo n't go away . In spite of signals from the Vatican discouraging even discussions of obligatory celibacy for Catholic priests , the almost 1,000-year-old rule is under the microscope . And it will be for decades to come . Here 's why . In the Catholic tradition , even though sex is cast as sinful unless expressed in the conjugal embrace of husband and wife , it is held as fundamentally good , a part of God 's creation . The church even holds that marriage -LRB-