By Gideon Njoku
If the Roman Catholic Pontif, Pope Francis, has his way at the soon to be held Amazon Synod, and bearing any last minute change of mind, there will be a major shift in the Roman Catholic Church.
Married men will be ordained Priests. Roman Catholic Priests, as a matter of religious doctrine, are celibate.
But the Pope wants to change all that, citing what he says is a shortage of Priests as the reason why.
This ordination of married men with children might kick off (first) in the remote Amazon areas.
The Vatican says it is considering the ordination of elderly married men as Priests in that area because because of the shortage of Priests.
Apparently, enough young men are not very interested in being celibate bcause they are Priests. Ordaining elderly married men Priests seems the only way to fill the vaccum.
If this is pulled through, it will be a historic shift in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.
The idea was raised in 2015, when it was published in details in the Pontif’s *Encyclical* on the Environment – *Laudato Si.*
In the publication, the Pope wrote that the remote areas of Amazon were confronting challenges. Such challenges, Pope Francis noted, “requires structural and personal changes by all human beings, by nations, and by Churches.”
Pope Francis, blunt, revered, very spiritual, compassionate, but controversial, atimes, is known to be pushing for a few changes in the very conservative Roman Catholic Church. He has been very unsparing of Priests, no matter their status, who either sexually molested minors, ignored such reports, or protected offenders.
Urbane, and cosmopolitan, he recently changed some wordings in the iconic “Our Lord’s Prayer”.
The change didn’t go down quite well with some Roman Catholic faithfuls. It remains to be seen how such faithfuls will take the ordination of married elderly people as Priests.
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