Question:
Answer:
While there have been discussions about ordaining married men to the ministerial priesthood in the Church’s main Latin Rite—married priests have existed for centuries in the smaller Eastern Rites—Pope Francis has not made any formal plans to implement such a modification in Church discipline.
Celibacy in service of the kingdom of God is a venerable tradition in the Church, as both Jesus and St. Paul highly recommend it (Matt. 19:10-12; 1 Cor. 7:6-8; 25-35). Those who are unmarried, for example, can be more singlehearted in serving God’s kingdom.
While clerical celibacy is a changeable discipline, any thought of modifying it should be considered carefully, given the Church’s venerable tradition that is rooted in the example and related exhortation of Jesus. In this light, we can see that Jesus is mystically married to his bride, the Church (Eph. 5:31-32), and bishops wear rings because they are spiritually betrothed to their dioceses.