Married priests, female deacons
For hundreds of years, the priesthood has been restricted solely to unmarried men.
But the debate on whether priests should be allowed to get married has been ongoing for just as long. Not too many years ago, John Paul II, a pope who was considered to be a darling of the conservative faction of the Church, also faced the idea that mature, married men of proven virtue should be allowed to be ordained. But nothing came out of it at the time.
Now we are set for another chapter of the saga, one which could lead to some changes that have for decades been advocated by the more liberal factions of the Church, but which will nonetheless not be welcomed – if they do take place – by the conservatives.
A three-week-long Vatican gathering of more than 180 Amazon region bishops ended last Saturday with a proposal for the ordination of married men with established families to help see to the spiritual needs of the region’s farflung faithful, where some Catholics don’t see priests for years.
Pope Francis did not shut the door to the suggestion. On Sunday, he exhorted Catholics to be open to fresh ways of evangelisation, saying that the Church must seek “new roads for the proclamation of the Gospel.”
Addressing the public in St Peter’s Square, Pope Francis said he felt compelled to “leave comfortable shores” in seeking new ways to carry out the Church’s core mission to spread the Catholic faith. But he stopped short of giving a formal answer, saying that it will arrive in writing by the end of the year.
Traditionalists insist the Vatican should continue to strictly adhere to centuries-old rules demanding that priests be celibate, unmarried men. Their political opponents inside the Vatican say that the Church must move in that direction if it wants to remain relevant and for its message to reach as far as possible.
It must be pointed out that in the first centuries of the church, priests used to be married men too. Even St Peter, who was hand-picked by Jesus to be his successor as leader of the Church, was married, as were many of the first apostles.
Whether the Amazon synod will ultimately lead to a change in the rules remains to be seen. More importantly, one also has to see whether these potential changes will be limited to just this area. Considering that the Catholic Church is experiencing a widespread decrease in the number of men who choose the priesthood, other regions around the world could be entertaining the idea of making a similar request to the Vatican. They will be eagerly waiting for the Pope’s official response before taking further steps in this regard.
The Amazon bishops also called on the Vatican to revive the idea of women being ordained as deacons, a lesser role than that of priests. A commission was established under the papacy of Pope Francis but no action was produced. Even here, the Church could see it as a way to increase its presence in the community.
But, like the idea of married men as priests, the notion of having women ordained as deacons is not a matter that will be resolved easily by the Church.