Leaders of the bishops’ conference in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have urged priests who have fathered children to leave the ministry to care for those children. The National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) recently issued a 19-page internal document, “At the School of Jesus Christ: for an authentic priestly life.” The paper aims Read more
The next assembly of the Synod of Bishops must take up the issue of mandatory priestly celibacy. Now is the time. Following the death of a good man, Bishop Edward Daly — who went to the Lord on August 8, 2016 –, there was an appreciation of his life published on the website of the Read more
Voluntary celibacy or marriage – the call for priests to be able to choose which state they prefer is growing stronger in Germany. German bishops’ conference president Bishop Georg Bätzing (pictured) and Archbishop Ludwig Schick have added their support to Cardinal Reinhard Marx who spoke strongly in favour of voluntary celibacy at the beginning of Read more
The declining number of believers in Europe, the Church’s struggle to continue playing a role in Western society, the debate over priestly celibacy and new views about sexuality… Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich – the 63-year-old Jesuit who leads the Archdiocese of Luxembourg and who is president of COMECE (the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the Read more
Two high ranking church officials in Germany have expressed support for optional celibacy for priests. Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich, one of Pope Francis’ most trusted aides, has spoken out in favour of banning mandatory clerical celibacy. He also supports allowing Catholic priests the option of marrying. Four days earlier, Archbishop Heiner Koch of Berlin Read more
Celibacy is not an obstacle to increasing priestly vocations. According to Bishop Wellington de Queiroz Vieira of Cristalandia and a member of the current Amazon synod the real issue is a lack of holiness. de Queiroz says combating priest shortages in the Amazon region by ordaining mature married men does not address a greater problem. Read more
The Church should “deepen its understanding of the uninterrupted tradition of priestly celibacy in the Latin rite” says Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. Ouellet says a deepened understanding of celibacy is preferable to grabbing at quick solutions to resolve the current lack of priests. He makes the claim in his newly Read more
In the sprawling Amazon region, the Catholic Church is severely short on priests. Clerics trek from one town to the next, sometimes requiring military transport to get to their remote destinations. Communities can go months without a visit. The church, as a result, is struggling to hold its influence. One new proposal to ease the Read more
Married priests could be a possibility if prelates ask Pope Francis to allow it, German Cardinal Walter Kasper says. Kasper, who is considered one of Francis’s close theological advisers, says such a change could be made during this year’s Synod of Bishops on the Amazon set for this October, if the prelates were to ask Read more
There has been a clamor among some priests to abolish mandatory celibacy and make it optional. For them, celibacy is a burden that is very difficult to live with. They contend that if it was made optional, more men will be attracted to the priesthood, especially at a time when there is a shortage of Read more