Pope Francis is making waves again, this time suggesting the Roman Catholic Church should consider ordaining married men to make up for serious shortages of priests in distant dioceses. In an interview with Germany’s Die Zeit, Francis mulled the possibility of ordaining so-called Viri Probati, meaning religious married men of proven character. Calling priest shortages an “enormous problem,” Francis said the question needed to be tackled “fearlessly.”In 2014, Erwin Kräutler, the bishop of Xingu in the Brazilian rainforest, said he had discussed the ordination of married men with Pope Francis. Pope Francis acknowledged the stress and loneliness of celibate life last year when he visited a group of former priests who left the church to get married and have children. “Even if it is restricted to areas like Amazonia, conservatives may see the ordaining of married men as the thin end of the wedge,” said Marco Tosatti, a Vatican correspondent with Italy’s La Stampa.

Source: Los Angeles Times March 10, 2017 21:06 UTC