Pope Francis has
rejected a proposal to allow married men become priests in remote areas of the
Amazon.
The pope’s decision
was made known in a letter released by the Vatican on Wednesday, according to
the New York Times.
An approval would
have reversed the age-long practice that Roman Catholic priests must be
celibate.
Catholic bishops
from across the Amazon had in October called for the ordination of married men
as priests to address a scarcity of clergy in the nine South American countries
in the region.
They had argued that
the Catholic faithful in the region have “enormous difficulties” in receiving
communion and seeing a priest, and called for ordination of some married men as
priests.
They had
specifically recommended the ordination of “suitable and esteemed men of the
community”, who had already had fruitful experiences as deacons and who
“receive an adequate formation for the priesthood, having a legitimately
constituted and stable family”.
But the pope was
quoted to have turned down the recommendation, saying that “a specific and
courageous response is required of the Church.”
He argued that
access to the sacraments need to be increased in “the remotest” places, but
that a priest alone can celebrate communion or absolve sins.
He said: “It is not
simply a question of facilitating a greater presence of ordained ministers who
can celebrate the Eucharist.”
The pope dismissed
the goal for such recommendation as a “very narrow aim.”
The pope’s decision
comes as a surprise to many considering his nod to the historic debate on
whether to allow married men become priests.
He also raised the
prospect of lifting the celibacy rule in 2017 when he told Die Zeit, a German
weekly, that “we must consider if viri probati (married clergy) is a
possibility.”
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