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| Former Pope Benedict, (R) has weighed in on the controversial question of whether or not to allow married "men of proven virtue" to join the priesthood (AFP Photo/Handout) |
Rome (AFP) - Former pope Benedict XVI has publicly urged his successor Pope Francis not to open the Catholic priesthood up to married men, in a plea that Sunday stunned Vatican experts.
The
ex-pontiff, who retired in 2013, issued the defence of clerical celibacy in a
book written with arch-conservative Cardinal Robert Sarah, extracts of which
were published in exclusive by France's Le Figaro.
"I
cannot keep silent!" Benedict wrote in the book, which follows an
extraordinary meeting of bishops from the Amazonian at the Vatican last year
that recommended the ordination of married men in certain circumstances.
The pope
emeritus, 92, and Sarah from Guinea weighed in on the controversial question of
whether or not to allow "viri probati" -- married "men of proven
virtue" -- to join the priesthood.
Francis is
currently considering allowing it in remote locations, such as the Amazon,
where communities seldom have Mass due to a lack of priests, and is expected to
publish his decision in the coming weeks.
The pair
asked the whole Church not to be "swayed" by "bad pleas,
theatrics, diabolical lies, fashionable errors that want to devalue priestly
celibacy".
"It is
urgent, necessary, that everyone, bishops, priests and laity, let themselves be
guided once more by faith as they look upon the Church and on priestly celibacy
that protects her mystery," they wrote.
They warned
of priests "confused by the incessant questioning of their consecrated
celibacy".
"The
conjugal state concerns man in his totality, and since the service of the Lord
also requires the total gift of man, it does not seem possible to realise the
two vocations simultaneously," Benedict wrote.
Sarah
insisted that while celibacy can be "a trial" it is also "a
liberation".
'Serious
breach'
Benedict,
who was the first pontiff to resign in almost 600 years, at first withdrew to a
life of quiet contemplation in the Vatican, but has increasingly begun to speak
out on key Catholic issues.
He and
Sarah insisted their plea was not a "political manoeuvre" or
"power game".
But Vatican
experts expressed astonishment that the retired pope would speak out on such a
sensitive topic.
"Benedict
XVI is really not breaking his silence because he (and his entourage) never
felt bound to that promise. But this is a serious breach," Massimo
Faggioli, who writes for La Croix, said on Twitter.
Joshua
McElwee of the National Catholic Reporter, tweeted that "a former pope
speaking in public about something his successor is currently in the process of
considering" was "incredible".
While
Vatican expert Iacopo Scaramuzzi pointed out that "cohabitation (in the
Vatican) is difficult if the emeritus pope does not respect his own promise to
hide away and obey".
The idea of
filling empty pulpits in remote locations by allowing married men to become
priests is a divisive once, with critics warning the emotive issue could
fracture the Catholic Church.
Supporters
say it would not be necessary to rewrite Church law; Francis could simply make
an exemption to the rules -- like the one already granted to married Anglican
pastors who later converted to Catholicism.
But the
ultra-conservative wing of the Church -- particularly in Europe and North
America -- has spoken out strongly against the idea, warning that making
exceptions could pave the way to the abolition of celibacy globally.
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