The idea of exceptionally ordaining older married men of proven virtue to celebrate the Eucharist in isolated Catholic commu-nities is something that should be discussed, said Cardinal Beniamino Stella, prefect of the Congregation for Clergy.
“It is not about being in favour of or against something, but about attentively evaluating various possibilities without being closed or rigid,” the cardinal said in a new book in Italian, “Tutti gli Uomini di Fran-cesco” (“All Francis’ Men”) released Jan. 22 by Edizioni San Paolo.
The book, by Italian journalist Fabio Marchese Ragona, includes interviews with churchmen named to the College of Cardinals by Pope Francis.
Francis was asked by the German news-paper Die Zeit last year about whether, in the Latin-rite church, he could see allowing married “viri probati” — men of proven virtue — to become priests.
“We have to study whether ‘viri probati’ are a possibility. We then also need to determine which tasks they could take on, such as in remote communities, for example,” Francis said.
The issue is expected to come up in the 2019 special gathering of the Synod of Bishops to study questions related to the church’s pastoral work in the Amazon. Already at Synods in 1990 on the priesthood and 2005 on the Eucharist some bishops — especially from Brazil’s Amazon region — suggested ordaining married men as the only way to ensure Catholics in isolated villages could receive the Eucharist regularly.
One possibility to explore is the exceptional ordination of older married men in remote communities, he said. “Continuing to maintain their family and jobs and receiving a formation contextualized for their environment, they could offer part-time service to the community they come from in order to guarantee the sacraments, especially by presiding at the eucharistic celebration.”
