ROME: Former pope Benedict XVI has publicly urged his successor Pope Francis not to open the Catholic priesthood up to married men, in a plea that stunned Vatican experts Sunday (Monday in Manila). “I cannot keep silent!” Benedict wrote in the book, which follows an extraordinary meeting of bishops from the Amazonian at the Vatican last year that recommended the ordination of married men in certain circumstances. The pope emeritus, 92, and Sarah from Guinea weighed in on the controversial question of whether or not to allow “viri probati” — married “men of proven virtue” — to join the priesthood. “Benedict XVI is really not breaking his silence because he (and his entourage) never felt bound to that promise. The idea of filling empty pulpits in remote locations by allowing married men to become priests is a divisive once, with critics warning the emotive issue could fracture the Catholic Church.

Source: Manila Times January 13, 2020 18:32 UTC