One of the hardest things Ed Donaghy has ever done was leave his ministry as a Catholic priest. For months, he agonized over his conflicting desires to have a family and serve as a priest in the Sacramento Diocese.

In the end, Donaghy felt he had no choice. The priest, who served in Woodland, told his bishop he had to leave.

That was four decades ago.

"It would have been wonderful to be married and be a priest," said Donaghy, 73, now retired as an insurance agent. "I loved the work and would have continued."

Donaghy is one of more than 75 men in the Sacramento area who have left active ministry in the priesthood to marry. Many of them, say Donaghy and others, "would have returned in a minute if the rules changed."

That is not likely to happen soon.

But the possibility that someday Catholics may see married priests in the pulpit was raised last week. That's when Vatican officials announced an arrangement that welcomes Anglicans into the Catholic Church, including their married priests.

Vatican officials have said repeatedly over the years that celibacy will remain mandatory, but many observers say having married Anglican priests in the church is a "major move" toward the idea of married Catholic priests.

"It's significant," said Sister Chris Schenk, of FutureChurch, a Cleveland group studying the shortages of priests in the United States.

"It's time for the church to bring these married priests back into ministry and to address the issue of mandatory celibacy," Schenk said. "We have parishes closing and a number of priests retiring. Look at the demographics."

About 40,000 priests serve in U.S. dioceses, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University. Many of those are nearing retirement. In 2009, 472 men were ordained.

"We have to do something because we need priests," Schenk said. "It only makes sense to re-think celibacy."

The Catholic Church already has married priests. Priests in the Eastern rite – 21 churches that are in communion with Rome – may marry.

"In our church most of the priests are married," said the Rev. Ted Wroblicky, a married priest at the Holy Wisdom Eastern Catholic Parish in Sacramento. "It is not unusual at all. People are used to it."

In his church, if the men are priests first, they aren't permitted to marry and remain in the ministry. However, if a man is already married, he can become a priest.

For nearly a decade, the Roman Catholic Church also has had a special provision for married ministers of other faiths to become Catholic priests after converting. Currently, about 150 married men across the country are now training for the Catholic priesthood, according to Schenk.

In the Sacramento Diocese, a former Lutheran pastor is in the process of becoming a Catholic priest. The man, who did not want to be identified, is married and has children. He will have the same responsibilities as other Catholic priests once he is ordained, according to church officials.

Some have conflicting views on the subject of celibacy and the priesthood.

"I believe in celibacy, but most of the Apostles were married, so we have to figure out a way of having both," said David Leatherby, who has attended Mass every day for 45 years and who has a grandson who is a priest.

He believes practical issues should be addressed and celibacy ought to be optional.

For him, it's also a practical matter. "The church needs priests, why not bring in these men?"

Celibacy has been a church rule since the 12th century. The issue of a celibate priesthood has been debated by theologians, parishioners and priests.

In a 2004 survey of Sacramento diocesan priests, 73 percent of the priests who responded said they favored an open discussion on mandatory celibacy, according to Call to Action, a Catholic grass-roots organization that mailed the survey to every priest in Northern California. The results were similar to those in other dioceses.

Some who favored a discussion said many early church leaders were married while others cited the blessings of celibacy.

Call The Bee's Jennifer Garza, (916) 321-1133.