Personally I've always considered the warning against empowerment characters for new players to be a little silly. New players may be at a disadvantage when it comes to CF game mechanics, but their newness does not necessarily mean they are at any disadvantage when it comes to role-play (which is the key ingredient to playing a priest-class).

Depending on the priest class they're not so much more complicated than other classes mechanics-wise. Your role-play, however, will be much more closely watched.