Top Vatican Archbishop Wants Celibacy Rule Reviewed, Backs Married Catholic Priesthood
- A top advisor to Pope Francis at the Vatican, Archbishop Charles Scicluna, has publicly called for the review of the celibacy rule for priests.
- In an interview with Maltan media, the trusted advisor of the Pope said priests have permission to marry.
- His assertions come some days after the Vatican approved the union of same-sex marriage in Catholic.
Legit.ng journalist Segun Adeyemi has over 9 years of experience covering political events, civil societies, courts, and metro
Archbishop Charles Scicluna, a high-ranking Vatican official, has advocated for the possibility of Catholic priests getting married.
He emphasised the need for the Roman Catholic Church to reconsider its celibacy rule, acknowledging its historical significance while supporting the idea of providing priests with the option to marry.
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Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, who serves as an advisor to Pope Francis, stated this in an interview with Times Of Malta.
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As quoted by Reuters, he said:
"This is probably the first time I'm saying it publicly, and it will sound heretical to some people.
"If it were up to me, I would revise the requirement that priests have to be celibate," he said, adding, "Experience has shown me that this is something we need to seriously think about."
Priests have permission to marry - Archbishop Scicluna
Scicluna, renowned for probing sexual abuse crimes, highlighted that priests had historical permission to marry at an earlier stage.
Emphasising that it was an optional practice during the Church's initial millennium, he advocated for reinstating this option.
Additionally, he noted that marriage was permitted in Catholic Churches of the Oriental rite.
Proposing a reassessment of priestly celibacy, Scicluna expressed concern that valuable priests were leaving the vocation due to their choice to marry.
He said:
"Why should we lose a young man who would have made a fine priest, just because he wanted to get married? And we did lose good priests just because they chose marriage.
"A man may mature, engage in relationships, love a woman. As it stands, he must choose between her and priesthood, and some priests cope with that by secretly engaging in sentimental relationships.”
The longstanding argument about permitting Catholic priests to marry continues, with the Pope rejecting a suggestion in 2021 to authorise the ordination of married elderly men in remote Amazon regions.
Recent comments from Scicluna have reignited conversations, with those against the idea asserting that celibacy enables priests to commit themselves to the Church entirely.
Pope Francis approves blessings for same-sex couples
Meanwhile, the Catholic church priests have been allowed to bless same-sex and "irregular" couples under certain circumstances.
Pope Francis approved after announcing the guidelines change on Monday, December 18.
The church clarified that blessings should not be part of regular Church rituals or related to civil unions or weddings.
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Source: Legit.ng
