MILWAUKEE - Responding to priests who argued that married men should be allowed into the priesthood, the head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops affirmed his support for celibacy Thursday and questioned whether adding married clerics would increase the number of priests.
The conference released a letter sent from its president, Bishop Wilton Gregory, to Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan, in answer to a letter from about 160 local priests. The group, more than a quarter of the archdiocese's clerics, called last month for opening the priesthood to married men.
Gregory said he is convinced the church must continue to follow centuries-old dictates upheld by Pope John Paul II, including the requirement that candidates for priesthood remain celibate.
"It is by no means clear that, as their letter states, a change in the discipline of clerical celibacy would necessarily bring about an...