Experts see cautious opening on priests' celibacy rule

By Nicholas Rigillo Dec 4, 2006, 13:53 GMT

Rome - Pope Benedict XVI may soon consider making limited changes to the Catholic Church's strict celibacy rule for priests, Vatican experts in Rome said Monday.

Their comments followed remarks made over the weekend by Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes, who told a Brazilian daily that 'celibacy is a discipline, not a dogma.'

Hummes is an influential figure inside the Vatican and has just been appointed by Benedict as the new Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, the Church body in charge of priests.

The Brazilian arrived in Rome on Monday to formally assume office and replace Dario Castrillon Hoyos of Colombia. Both men had been tipped as possible papal contenders ahead of last year's conclave.

Speaking to the Brazilian media, Hummes noted that some of Jesus's Apostles were married and that the celibacy rule was only introduced centuries after the birth of the Catholic Church.

'The Church is not an immobile institution, it can change when necessary,' the 72-year-old Brazilian said, adding that any changes on the rules would have to be approved by the pope after long discussions.

Writing in Monday's Corriere della Sera, Vatican expert Bruno Bartoloni described Hummes's comments as 'an unexpected opening' on the issue.

'The fact that the head of the department in charge of the life and discipline of priests should announce a debate on this thorny issue just before being formally installed is both extraordinary and unprecedented,' Bartoloni wrote.

According to Marco Politi, a journalist and author of several books on the Catholic Church, the cardinal's words showed that 'there is a growing awareness within the Vatican that the issue of married priests needs to be discussed.'

Speaking to Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, Politi noted that a number of bishops attending a synod in Rome two years ago had asked the pope to allow priests to marry to make up for the shortage of men of the cloth currently affecting the Church in many parts of the world.

Only last month, Benedict and his top advisors had reaffirmed in a meeting at the Vatican 'the validity of the priestly celibacy' rule.

But an official statement issued after the meeting fell short of ruling out any changes in the future, experts noted.

That meeting was called by Benedict to discuss the case of Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, the breakaway Zambian archbishop excommunicated in September after ordaining four married men as bishops in the United States.

Milingo, who has married a Korean acupuncturist, is championing the cause of married priests at the head of a New York-based organisation called 'Married Priests Now.'

Politi said that while he did not expect the Church to allow priests to marry any time soon, it could decide to open its doors to the ordination of so-called viri probati - tested married men.

Experts noted that such a move would both help make up for the shortage of priests in some countries and also reduce divisions between the Vatican and Protestants, who allow their priests to marry.

Although a staunch conservative on doctrinal issues, Benedict himself once said while he was still a cardinal, in 1996, that the celibacy rule is not a dogma but 'a style of life'.

'Pope Benedict is showing that he is interested in the issue and that he can be more unpredictable than some may think,' Politi told dpa.

Historians note that the celibacy rule for priests was introduced during the second half of the 11th century and was only formalised by the Roman Catholic Church in the Council of Trent of 1545.

There are an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 men in the world who have left the priesthood to marry and are now considered outcasts by Rome.