I think I may be called to be a priest and have never been on a date in my life. Is that bad?

[Joannm]

Dating is not something that you need to do if you are called to the priesthood. In fact you could save a lot of heartache by refraining.
On the other hand, do you have friends who happen to be girls? I think what seminaries are now looking at is the ability to maintain healthy relationships.

I think the ability to have a healthy relationship with women is more important than actually having dated one. As a parish priest, you will have a lot of contact with women and you will need to feel comfortable around them. Some of my favorite priests enjoy being around women. Having traveled with two such priests I can say that I enjoyed their company as well. They appreciated the gifts of women, kidded around with us, and do not have an unhealthy “fear” of women. I know other priests who avoid women in social settings and in public are standoffish with women. I don’t think this is healthy because it alienated a majoritiy of their parishioners.