Print friendly
Pope Francis has discussed the possibility of ordaining proven married men as priests, a South American bishop says.
Bishop Erwin Krautler, whose diocese of Xingu is in the Brazilian rainforest, spoke with Pope Francis on April 4 in a rare private interview.
The desperate shortage of priests in the bishop’s huge diocese was one of the topics discussed.
There are only 27 priests in the diocese, which has 700,000 Catholics.
According to an interview in Salzburger Nachrichten, Bishop Krautler said the Pope is open-minded about finding solutions.
Bishop Krautler confirmed that the topic of ordaining “vir probati”, proven married men, had come up when he and the Pope were talking about the plight of communities.
Local bishops should be courageous and make “concrete suggestions”, the Pope reportedly told him.
Bishops’ conferences should find consensus and bring suggestions to Rome, the Pope added.
He told Bishop Krautler about a diocese in Mexico in which there were 300 deacons, but many communities which had no priest.
The question was how things could continue in such a situation, Bishop Krautler said.
“It was up to the bishops to make suggestions, the Pope said again,” the bishop added.
Asked whether it now depended on bishops’ conferences as to whether Church reforms proceeded or not, Bishop Krautler said “yes”.
“After my personal discussion with the Pope, I am absolutely convinced of this.”
Last month, 21 Catholic peers and MPs in the United Kingdom wrote to Pope Francis asking him to consider allowing local bishops to ordain married men.
They argued it is anomalous that married Anglican priests can be received into the Catholic Church and ordained as Catholic priests, but married Catholic men cannot do the same.
In 2012, then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, before he was Pope, told media he favoured retaining celibacy, with all its pros and cons.
“Tradition has weight and validity,” he noted.
But he added “It is a matter of discipline, not of faith. It can change”.
Sources
- The Tablet
- Catholic Herald
- Image: Salon.com
Related Posts:
News category: World.
