A senior Vatican official suggested on Sunday that the Catholic Church should seriously consider allowing priests to marry. Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, who is also an advisor to Pope Francis and serves as the deputy secretary of the Vatican's doctrinal office, stated in an interview with the Times of Malta, "This may be the first time I say this publicly and it will seem heretical to some people."
Pope Francis has ruled out any opportunity to change the Roman Catholic rule that requires priests to remain celibate, but this is not part of the church's official doctrines, and thus the pope could amend it in the future. A spokesman for the Vatican has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Scicluna (64 years old), known for his investigations into sexual abuse cases, pointed out that priests were allowed to marry in the first millennium of the Church's history and that marriage is permitted today in the Eastern rites of the Catholic Church. He remarked, "If it were up to me, I would review the requirement for priests to be celibate... My experiences have shown me that this is something we need to seriously consider."
He noted that the Church "has lost many great priests because they chose to marry." He added that "there is space" for celibacy in the Church but acknowledged that a priest sometimes falls in love, leading him to choose "between (the girl) and the priesthood," with some priests handling this by engaging in secret romantic relationships.
There has been a centuries-long debate over whether Roman Catholic priests should be allowed to marry. Opponents of priestly marriage argue that celibacy allows priests to devote themselves entirely to the Church.
