I am not a Priest, so my thoughts on this are pretty meaningless, but I would answer in this way. Being a Priest is a calling. I believe there are some men who desire to become Priests for the wrong reasons (i.e. a sense of self-importance or to be front and center of everyone’s attention). However, I would bet that a good majority of Priest do so with a sense of humility.
Being a Priest is sacrifice. If it were easy, we would have no shortage of Priests and I would argue an even greater number of scandals plaguing the Church.
If you are focusing on the discipline of celibacy, then chances are you are not being called to become a Priest, but if you are focusing on Christ Jesus, our Blessed Mother, and the bride of Christ, then true intimacy you will find.
My cousin dated a guy who later became ordained a Priest (and a very good young Priest). His name is Fr. Phil if you would like to Pray for him.
I also have a cousin who had a great job with the United States Pentagon when he heard God’s call to join the Franciscans. He was ordained a couple years ago as a Deacon I believe.
Neither of these young men lacked an attraction to females if this is what you are asking. I do think we have a homosęxuąl Priest problem in the Church (from back in the 60’s & 70’s), but most Priests today are doing it for the right reasons.
I have a childhood friend who was on that A&E show God or the Girl, where they followed around four young men who were discerning the Priesthood. My friend lived in a home (a sort of fraternity for young Catholic men) with one of the guys, Dan, who was discerning the Priesthood. So, you would see my friend in the background doing the dishes, or participating in one of the challenges Dan’s vocations director or spiritual director would give to the young man (like building a wooden cross that Dan would walk for miles with).
In this show, which I have on DVD, some of the men would have made great Priests. But, two of the young men were being pressured by others in their lives and not being lead by our Lord. And as the saying goes, “Jesus leads, Satan pushes.”
One of the young men were being pressured by his mother, who wanted nothing more than to have a Priest for a son. Another young man was being pressured by his Parish Priest.
Dan, whom I thought would make a great Priest, ultimately chose not to, but rather to become a Youth minister and speaker at Conventions.
By the end of the show, only one of the young men decided to continue onto Seminary, but none of them were ever ordained Priests.
My Wife and I watch “Married at First Sight” (not a recommendation). Every once in a while, a couples will remain Married successfully. Our Friend’s maid of honor was on this show and she and her Husband are still Married, have children, and are living a good life. They were on one of the earlier Seasons. The last few Season’s we’ve watched, the success rate is extremely low. There have been seasons where none of the couple remain Married!
In the beginning there was little pressure to do anything, but build a relationship with the one the “experts” matched them with. But, as the show went on, the individuals would interact more with the others on the show. The bros would get together and hang out. And the gals would get together and gossip. It would add more to the drama of the show, but it also introduces more feelings of doubt among many going through the process.
They would begin comparing their relationship to that of the other couples (something I would advise any Married person to not do).
Likewise, it would be a bad idea for a Priest to start comparing his relationship with Christ and His Church to those who are living another vocation.
This being said, I do think it is very good for Priests to get together with other Priest friends and do fun things. Our young Priest often invites other Priest friends or Seminarians to come sit around a fire on his patio or go catch a baseball game.
Not sure if anything I have said here helps or takes away from the conversation, but I think good relationships are what make any vocation successful. And the most important relationship is our relationship with Jesus Christ.