matter.
"There are so many people that think because they are not living out their celibacy commitment, therefore the church should change, and that's not going to do it," said Rev. Thomas P. Rausch, a Jesuit priest and the T. Marie Chilton Professor of Catholic Theology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
Jesuits differ from diocesan priests such as Manning and Porter, in that they are part of a religious order and live in community with other priests or "brothers."
Diocesan priests are under a bishop and typically minister in parishes in specific locations. Manning and Porter are in the Diocese of San Bernardino.
Celibacy is interpreted by some as a sign of how believers will one day live in heaven. They point to Christ's teaching in the Gospel of Matthew that says believers will not marry, but are like angels in heaven.
"Celibacy for the kingdom of heaven is a gospel value," Rausch said. "Jesus was celibate and St. Paul was celibate."
The practice among clergy was common by the third century, and tougher Catholic Church rules were set by the First Lateran Council of 1123 and confirmed by later councils.
The move was an effort to combat corruption among priests who married and had children who eventually inherited their property, which resulted in them taking land away from the Catholic Church.
Today, one can find married Roman Catholic priests who converted from Protestant denominations, and married priests are the norm among Eastern Rite Catholics in eastern Europe and the Mideast.
Rausch said the idea that every priest should be married comes more from tradition than from the Bible, and that married priests can be just as effective as celibate ones.
That may be something to consider, if what Rausch also said turns out to be true - that the Catholic Church could face a lack of priests because of the practice of celibacy.
"The church has got to do something about the shortage of priests, and has got to do something realistic about it," he said.
But some say allowing ordained priests to marry will bring with it more problems than the Catholic Church is prepared to deal with.
Pia de Solenni, a Seattle-based moral theologian with expertise in Catholicism and culture, said one issue is how the Catholic Church would financially support married priests as well as their families.
"We're shutting down (Roman Catholic) schools because we don't have the resources," de Solenni said. "The resources are not there to support married clergy."
According to de Solenni, the demands of parish life make it highly unlikely that married priests will become a common thing to see in the United States.
A celibate priest can devote more time to the ministry than married ministers who divide their time between church life and family, de Solenni said.
She also believes there are far too many priests committed to celibacy to expect a change in the near future.
"I think they are a silent majority we haven't heard from," de Solenni said. "Sure, people talk about a shortage of vocations, but if you look at the numbers, they are going up around the world."
And she doesn't see top leaders in the Catholic Church changing their minds.
"You would have to have an overwhelming number of clergy asking for this, and they are not doing that, and you would have to have a church that is ready for this...in practical terms, and I don't see that," de Solenni said.
Manning, 70, has said that Kotowski is his second cousin. His correspondence with her revealed that he struggled with the hypocrisy of being an unmarried yet sexually active priest.
Kotowski, 59, told the Monterey Herald that she and Manning are soul mates who had a 30-year relationship, although she wouldn't say how long they were sexually involved.
She also said they each love the Catholic Church and are now committed to celibacy.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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