Cardinal Walter Kasper has told German media he believes Pope Francis favours ordaining married men of proven virtue (known by the Latin term, viri probati), but is also sure the Pope wants to leave the decision up to individual bishops’ conferences.
“The (vocation) situation differs so widely in different parts of the world that a uniform worldwide solution is not possible,” the cardinal said on April 6th in a long interview with the German Church’s Internet portal katholisch.de.
The occasion was the 60th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. “Each bishops’ conference must first decide whether it is in favour (of ordaining married men) and describe how it intends to go about this. And then it must bring its proposals before the Pope,” said the cardinal, a world-class theologian known to be close to Francis.
“I have the impression that if their application is well-founded, it will be met positively. The ball is therefore back in the bishops conferences’ court,” he said.
The cardinal said that as far as Germany and many parts of the Western world are concerned it is “imperative and most urgent” to discuss the possibility of ordaining viri probati because the shortage of priests has become drastic. “We simply cannot carry on with the situation as it is at present. Priests today are often managers with four or five parishes to look after. They have no time for pastoral work,” the 84-year-old cardinal said.
