Pope Francis rejects allowing married men to become priests

POPE FRANCIS has ruled against allowing married men to become priests, shying away from a reform that would have incensed conservatives and ended the centuries-long tradition of clergy remaining celibate.

In a further victory for conservatives, he also dismissed the idea of ordaining women, infuriating women’s groups within the Catholic Church which accused him of perpetuating “institutional sexism”.

There had been intense speculation that the Pope might have allowed a relaxing of the celibacy rule for regions of the world in which there is an acute shortage of priests, notably the Amazon.

The contentious issue was discussed at a synod, or gathering of bishops, at the Vatican in October. Two-thirds of the 185 participants of the synod voted in favour of allowing married men in the nine countries of the Amazon basin to join the priesthood.

The change would have been staunchly opposed by traditionalists, who have rallied around Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in a war of attrition against Pope Francis. They feared that if one region was allowed to ordain married priests, other regions would clamour for the same right.

But in a 32-page document known as an apostolic exhortation, released yesterday, Pope Francis pointedly avoided the issue entirely. While acknowledging that there was an “urgent need” for priests in the Amazon, he did not make any reference to the question of allowing married men to be ordained.

Instead, he wrote that bishops in Latin America should encourage “those who display a missionary vocation to opt for the Amazon region”.

Vatican experts said it was not a huge surprise that the Pope had refused to endorse the idea of married priests, given that he has repeatedly said he regards the principle of celibacy as “a gift” that should be preserved.

Austen Ivereigh, a Vatican scholar, said the Pope had seen how divisive the issue had become in the Catholic Church and had decided to avoid it.

He said: “He was troubled by opposition from even quite moderate cardinals who would normally be very closely aligned with him.”