Obviously yes,
I don't think it is obvious at all - and remember my question said 'permanently' so irrevocable. To my mind consent is only valid if it can be withdrawn in some manner, unless it is clearly impossible so to do - for example to reverse the consent to an operation to amputate a limb.
for there are many people who are able to commit to celibacy, priests, monks and a host of other people, religious and not.
And here is the nub of the problem - there maybe some, perhaps many who can, but there are others, also perhaps many who cannot and are unable to maintain their celibacy and therefore look to routes to satisfy their natural sexuality desires.
Those who find they can't are free to leave the priesthood should they desire to marry. I don't see what the problem is.
Again it isn't that straightforward - leaving the priesthood isn't like leaving your electricity supplier. Priests consider it a calling, a vocation. The church is set up to provide a kind of family for the priest. To leave it to turn your back on all that - it must be an incredibly difficult decision - there are extreme levels of soft control and power that prevent priests from simply walking away. To be genuinely 'free to leave' there must be no pressure or coercion, overt or covert, that acts as a barrier to leaving. I don't believe that is the case for priests thinking of leaving the priesthood.
