VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Throughout his five-year pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI has made some of his most interesting comments off the cuff, often during question-and-answer sessions with priests.

His late-night meeting with 10,000 priests June 10 was a good example.

Although questions were prepared in advance, the pope's responses were unfiltered and impromptu -- the kind of "organized spontaneity" for which his mind is apparently hard-wired. Unfortunately, the world often misses out on these talks for a number of reasons.

His vigil with priests ended close to midnight and a Vatican text wasn't made available until several days later. Moreover, the pope used concepts and terms that weren't exactly user-friendly to the mass media.

His response on priestly celibacy was a case in point and deserves a closer look. He was asked by a Slovakian priest to "enlighten us about the wisdom and the authentic meaning of ecclesial celibacy." The pope's angle of attack was unusual. He did not speak about Christ's own celibacy or the history of the celibate priesthood, or about any of the practical questions connected with the requirement of celibacy in the Western church.

Instead, he said priestly celibacy was a way for the priest to become more united with Christ and his mission, in an anticipation of "the world of the resurrection."

In celibacy, he said, the priest is pulled forward toward "the new and true life" of the future. That creates a problem with the contemporary mindset, which seeks to close off God, the pope said.