On the Priesthood

A consecrated soul cannot be unconsecrated.

"Priests have a power not their own, and priests who abandon the priesthood carry with them a volatile power they cannot shed. A consecrated soul cannot be unconsecrated but only desecrated by pride and the guilt of pride. And when a desecrated priest ceases to offer worthy sacrifice, he may start to require sacrifice...

...saints need priests to help them be saints, especially priests willing to be saints. There cannot be a Church without priests. Sometimes priests themselves underestimate that. (...) [St Jean-Marie] Vianney preached to his uncertain flock, "When you see a priest, you should say: 'There is the one who has made me a child of God... one who has cleansed me from my sins, who gives nourishment to my soul.'"

-- The Curé D'Ars Today: St John Vianney by Fr George William Rutler