BERLIN — Pope Francis says the church must study whether it’s possible to ordain married men to minister in remote communities facing priest shortages. But he expressed an openness to studying whether so-called “viri probati” — or married men of proven faith — could be ordained. “We must consider if viri probati is a possibility. Francis has shown particular openness to receiving concrete proposals for ordaining married men as well as his own pastoral concern for men who have left ministry to marry. Priests in the eastern rite Catholic Church are allowed to be married, as are married Anglican priests who convert to Catholicism.

Source: National Post March 11, 2017 01:52 UTC