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The former Fr. Dean McFalls<\/strong> just became a father in the literal sense, as <\/span>the Stockton, California priest announced <\/span><\/a>that he is resigning as pastor of <\/span>St. Mary’s Church<\/span><\/a> in order to welcome a baby boy into his life. <\/span><\/p>\n The popular priest’s departure has been met with disappointment from his congregation, some of whom believe “it’s time for the Catholic church to re-evaluate its long-held tradition requiring priests to be celibate and unmarried.” <\/span>Parishioner Natalie Lerma<\/span><\/a>, who has known McFalls for two decades, thinks that his resignation is a huge loss, commenting, “I don\u2019t think babies are wrong and I don\u2019t think loving people is wrong, so maybe I think it\u2019s time we look at things differently.”<\/span><\/p>\n McFalls discussed the Church’s rules against marriage in an <\/span>interview with News10,<\/span><\/a> saying, “If the situation in the Catholic Church were different, I would be a better man. More stable, more effective in the long run as a human being.” <\/span>CBS Sacramento<\/span><\/a> reported that McFalls commented, “Maybe there will be a time again when priests can marry as they did for the first 1,000 years in the life of the church, but I really don\u2019t want to argue that as a justification for what\u2019s happened to me.”<\/span><\/p>\n Archbishop Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, <\/span>noted earlier this month<\/span><\/a> that the church needs to “reflect the democratic spirit of the times,” potentially opening the issue of priestly celibacy up for discussion. <\/span><\/p>\n