Pope: Married Men Come on Down!

Pope Francis says the church is low on priests and that maybe changing the rules could fix the problem.

In an interview with German newspaper, Die Zeit, the Pope says allowing married men to become priests is something he has been considering.

"If so, we would need to determine what duties they could undertake, for example, in remote communities."

The Pope says this option would only allow men who are already married to be ordained.

However, he says single men who are already priests still can't marry.

"Voluntary celibacy is not a solution."

Unmarried priests had long been a tradition in the church, because of certain passages in the Bible. 

The Roman Catholic Church also believes that priests must act "in persona Christi" (in person of Christ) and should be celibate like Christ.

And while the inclusion of married men seems to be a surprising idea, it isn't all that new.

In fact, reports of the Pope being okay with married priests has been going on for a few years.

The Catholic Church also already allows some married men to be ordained and Protestant married priests who convert to Catholicism can continue to be married.

Eastern Catholic churches in communion with the Roman Catholic Church can also have married priests.


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