What if that child is disabled,
That's different. I said "voluntarily opt" out.
or even an artist for whom childlikeness has fertilised their art?
By your definition: yes. They are incomplete. Me personally, I'd consider them an adult if they were responsible for themselves and directed towards some self-fulfillment goal so I would say that they were an adult.
Why are there so many articles about Peter Pan Syndrome and immature millennials?
Why so many legal statutes defining adulthood with none of your prerequisites. But, I'll be sure to try and use your definition if I'm ever in court for a crime.
"Your honor, I can't be tried as an adult as I don't have responsibilities yet. Your honor, it wasn't statutory rape as I'm not an adult either..."
If you become a priest, you are a priest, you don't work as a priest.
If you become a doctor, you are a doctor, you don't work as a doctor. If you become a firefighter, you are a firefighter, you don't work as a firefighter. If you become an athlete, you are an athlete, you don't work as an athlete. If you become an author, you are an author, you don't work as an author...
See I can do that to...
If you are a manager at Oracle and you define yourself by that, and spend your time at home worrying about your employees and how you can get the budget from head office not to lay anyone off this year, as admirable as your commitment is, it's a bit weird, you're paid to be there, so are they, most of them will lack that commitment to you or the company and the company most certainly does not have any commitment to you.
Not a fair comparison. Most priests don't think like that either. They are a priest, their current assignment is more of a temporary responsibility. Fr. John doesn't define himself as the pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility, he defines himself as a priest. Also, do you think that priests don't take time off? Do you think they spend all their time in the rectory worrying about their people.
You're an interchangeable cog in a machine and you're mostly going to know it. It's a whole different kind of dynamic.
Same with most priests. The pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility knows he can be replaced. Heck, he knows he will be replaced in a matter of years when his assignment changes.