We have three daughters and a thus a wide circle of female friends - all want a strong Catholic man who takes his faith seriously. Yet most are still single because there are so few men like this. They are told they are too "fussy" and yet when I look around at the young traditional Catholic men of today, all I see is either boys who have not grown up or political types who swivel there brandy, smoke too much, and expect a prospective wife to be at their beck and call like an accessory (aka men who have not grown up).

A man who takes the Catholic faith seriously has this expectation of himself:

"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the church, and delivered himself up for it: That he might sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of water in the word of life: That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy, and without blemish. So also ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife, loveth himself."

And this expectation of his prospective wife:

"Let women be subject to their husbands, as to the Lord: Because the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church."

Among that wide circle of female friends you mention, how many readily embrace this command of subjection and submission to rightful authority within a family? If any do, they are rare, indeed.

Most of them do; they are lovely, capable girls with a lot of give. Which is why they are still single. What woman in her right mind is going submit themselves to what I have described? I know too many trad Catholics who have suffered or are suffering a life of abuse because their husbands do not "love their wives as Christ also loved his Church". And that's because they do not love their Church. To my mind, if man reviles against the Pope, he is going to revile against his wife when she doesn't "measure up".

Well, it's sad that my classmate didn't go on to be ordained [I didn't either]. He 'discerned out' as they say from a vocation to the priesthood, however, last I heard he was a good husband & family man, so I don't begrudge him. It was hard on his mother, who was really looking forward to having a priest in the family. It was a large family (12+), but AFAIK none of his siblings tried a vocation. It was honorable and above-board decision - NOT like stories of women termed "chalice chippers" or "chalice snatchers" who set out to seduce seminarians & priests.

Unfortunately I had a different friend form my seminary days who did receive ordination to Holy Orders only to leave the priesthood in disgrace after hooking up with a divorcee in his first parish assignment. He invited me to his wedding (which was even held in a Catholic church officiated by some liberal pastor! ) but I declined to attend since I did not want to ratify his betrayal of vows. The woman in question was probably NOT attracted by his piety (IMO).