Pope Francis has in a recent interview revealed that the Catholic church may be considering ordaining married men as priests.
The pope noted that the move is in order to cater for the shortage of priests in some remote areas.
Speaking during an interview with German weekly Die Zeit published on Thursday, Pope Francis said: “We must think about whether viri probati are a possibility.
“Then we have to decide what tasks they can take on, for example in remote communities.”
He added: “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.”
The Pope who had earlier in May 2014 revealed that “there are married priests in the Church” while regarding married Anglican ministers who joined the Catholic Church, Coptic Catholics and the priests of some Eastern churches further noted that the issue of celibacy within priests in training is not debatable.