YES YES YES!  As Fr. David (now Bishop) Doyle told us in eleventh grade religion class, "I get to go to heave n before the rest of you simply by virtue of my ordination."  When I challenged him on this, "What if you sinned?  What if you murdered someone?" His response, "It doesn't matter.  I'm a priest."  Of course I challenged him on this further.  His response, to change my A+ grade to a C.  

It is because of this clerical culture that I do not push for women's ordination in the Catholic Church. I do not wish to be part of a privileged minority who sets themselves apart from and more special than others or who believe they are somehow above the law.   Jesus walked among the people - not above them.  Actually, Jesus walked below the people - ministering to those who had otherwise been neglected, ignored or outcast.  Clericalism creates elitism, not the humble acts of selfless love that Jesus modeled. 

Lauri Ann Lumby, OM, MATS
Authentic Freedom Academy
Oshkosh, WI