Pope Francis officially opened a three-week meeting of Vatican bishops on Sunday that will debate whether the Catholic Church should allow the ordination of married men in the Amazon region of South America, according to the the wall street journal.
Why is it important: A change to the 1,000-year-old celibacy requirement for priests could help fill a shortage of priests in the Amazon. Critics say it would “undermine the distinctiveness of the priesthood,” according to the WSJ.
By the numbers: There are 7,200 Catholics per priest in South America, almost 4 times the ratio in North America, according to Vatican statistics.
- In some parts of the Amazon, the ratio reaches over 8,000 Catholics for every priest. The global ratio has risen sharply in recent decades, from 1,900 to 1 in 1980 to around 3,200 to 1 today.
- Some remote parishes go months without a visit from a priest.
The context: In June, Pope Francis asked the Church to consider ordaining married elders who are respected by their communities to serve as priests in remote areas of South America.
- A three-week meeting of Vatican bishops will consider environmental and religious issues in the Amazon region in general, but priestly celibacy is one of the most contentious issues to be debated.
What they say : In his Sunday homily, the pope did not directly refer to the celibacy debate, but asked the Church to consider innovation: “If everything continues as before, if we spend our days contenting ourselves that ‘this is the way things have always been done,’ then the gift fades away, smothered in the ashes of fear and concern to defend the status quo.”
- American Cardinal Raymond Burke and Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Kazakhstan asked Catholics to hold prayer vigils and fast for 40 days throughout the meeting to protest the debate.
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