POPE FRANCIS MAY APPROVE ORDINATION OF MARRIED MEN AS CATHOLIC PRIESTS, AS BISHOPS APPROVE PROPOSAL

Pope Francis | Photo credit: TheTablet

In what is seen as a major break from a centuries-old tradition in the Roman Catholic Church, Bishops from the Amazon region of the Catholic Church has approved the ordination of some married men as priests within the region.

The proposal which now awaits the Pope's approval was sanctioned by Catholic Bishops in a sweeping vote on Saturday as they concluded a three-week synod at the Vatican to discuss environmental and religious issues affecting the Amazon region. The Vatican invited 184 bishops and priests from the Amazon region and around the world for the special meeting. Also, 35 women, mostly religious sisters and nuns, were also invited but did not have voting rights.

The proposal was the most contentious issue deliberated upon during the synod, but passed by an overwhelming 128 - 41 votes, and only applies to some churches within the Amazon region which are experiencing a shortage of priests. The regions include parts of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.

The proposal is known as "viri probati", and refers to allowing older Catholic men who have stable families, are respected in their communities, and are already ordained as deacons in the church, to be ordained as priests.

Although the priesthood of the Catholic Church is exclusively reserved for unmarried men, some converts, from the Anglican Communion for example, can become Catholic priests even if they are already married.

However, allowing married men to become priests is not the same thing as allowing priests to marry, so the change would not affect the rule of celibacy for Catholic priests, who are not allowed to marry.

The proposal must be approved by Pope Francis for it go into effect, something he said he hopes to respond to by the end of the year. He has previously stated he was open to studying the possibility of allowing married men to be ordained. Another proposal recommended continuing to study the possibility of ordaining women as deacons.

Source: Vanguard