Pope Francis has again said that he thinks married men becoming priests is something that could happen in the future.

CNN reports that Pope Francis told a German newspaper that the shortage of priests in some parts of the world is a 'enormous problem' and that 'We need to consider if 'viri probati' could be a possibility.' If so, we would need to determine what duties they could undertake, for example, in remote communities.' Pope Francis made it clear that he does not support the idea of men who are already priests being allowed to marry.

Viri probati is the Latin term for 'tested men,' meaning married men of virtue and faith. These would be mean already involved in the Catholic Church in some way. Pope Francis also mentioned that there are already married priests in the Catholic Church today, who were married ministers in their churches before converting to Catholicism. They're allowed to remain priests when they convert. The Eastern Catholic churches also allow married priests.

Our own Chris Meaux gave his opinion on married priests when Pope Francis talked about the possibility a few years ago. Chris was in the seminary himself but left because he wanted a family. You can read his opinions here.

 

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