Polish clergy seem to prefer celebrate over celibate

Remember my 'celibate/celebrate' joke (here)?

Well, the Polish clergy have taken it seriously:

Majority of Poland's Catholic priests 'want end to celibacy'

A survey of Poland's Catholic priests has shown that a majority favour an end to celibacy, with some admitting they are already in a relationship with a woman.

The research has dealt a blow to the country's reputation as a champion of traditional Roman Catholic values.

A survey of over 800 priests carried out by Professor Josef Baniak, a sociologist specialising in religious affairs, found that 53 per cent would like to have a wife, while 12 per cent admitted that they were involved in a relationship. A further 30 per cent said that they had had a sexual relationship with a woman.

Prof Baniak concluded from earlier reasearch that the desire to have a relationship and a family was one of the key reasons for priests leaving the priesthood.

His latest research echoes an earlier survey carried out by the Tygodnik Powszechny newspaper. The conservative publication, aimed at Catholic intellectuals, found that as many as 60 per cent of priests wanted the right to marry.

Professor Baniak's survey, however, has come under fire from the Church. Bishop Wojciech Polak, chairman of the Church's Vocations Council, described it as "full of generalisations", adding that he found the "conclusions hard to agree with".