Pope Francis doesn't rule out making married men priestsMarch 10, 2017 - 10:23 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Pope Francis said in an interview published Thursday, March 9 that the church may consider ordaining married men who could potentially then work in remote areas faced with a shortage of priests, AFP reports. "We must think about whether viri probati are a possibility," Francis said referring to older, married men who are already involved in church business. "Then we have to decide what tasks they can take on, for example in remote communities," he added in the interview with German weekly Die Zeit. Many in the church believe, given the lack of priests in many places, that a new path to ordination should be opened. They think that in addition to priests who take a vow of celibacy, older, married men with a long commitment to the church could also be considered. Pope Francis said in May 2014 that "there are married priests in the Church" citing married Anglican ministers who joined the Catholic Church, Coptic Catholics and the priests of some Eastern churches. The church, and notably the current pope's predecessor Benedict XVI, had previously said that celibacy was not a matter of inflexible church dogma unlike, for example, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, Francis said allowing priests in training to choose whether or not to be celibate was "not the solution". Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. Aram I supports Karekin II’s “patriotic position” Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I has expressed support for the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. |