Source: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/guest-blogger/5-myths-about-married-priests-in-eastern-catholicism (4 Nov. 2019)
Excerpt:
Myth 3: The Eastern Catholic Discipline is an “Aberration”
When defending the Latin discipline of priestly celibacy, there is a risk of denigrating the Eastern discipline. I have seen Catholic authors refer to the Eastern discipline as an “aberration” or an “error” that is tolerated for the sake of unity. Some even claim that the existence of married Eastern Catholic priests represents a deficiency of faith.
In contrast, official Catholic teaching respects the Eastern discipline. See, for example, the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, which was promulgated by St. John Paul II. It states that “the hallowed practice of married clerics in the primitive Church and in the tradition of the Eastern Churches throughout the ages is to be held in honor” (canon 373). Similar statements are found in other church documents, such as the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which affirms that the Eastern practice of ordaining married men as priests “has long been considered legitimate; these priests exercise a fruitful ministry within their communities” (no. 1580).
Arguments for mandatory celibacy that denigrate or delegitimize married priests are problematic, for they are attacks on a legitimate discipline that is practiced within Catholicism. Moreover, they are inadvertent attacks on faithful Catholic priests who serve in the Eastern Churches.
Instead, it is possible to defend the Latin discipline without disparaging married priests. …
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