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Pope Francis has made waves with his controversial decisions in the past few years. Most recently, he has been in the process of deciding whether or not to allow older married men in the Amazon area to become priests. This would be an exception to the rule of celibacy, which some argue would disintegrate the moral standards of priesthood. Others argue that the shortage of priests in the Amazon area necessitates this exception.

In the upcoming weeks, about 260 Catholic bishops from around the world are meeting at the Vatican to discuss current issues facing the Catholic church in the Amazon. They are touching on topics of climate change, migration and evangelism, but the topic of whether or not married men should be allowed to be priests in the region is the concern that is causing the most stir.

This is a controversial issue because some feel priesthood must be accompanied by celibacy, while others feel that the need for priests in this area should result in an exception to the celibacy rule. Some fear that this exception will expand to other regions and become increasingly pervasive.

According to the “instrumentum laboris,” a working document resultant from these meetings, older married men who are well-respected in remote parts of the Amazon should be ordained, under the conditions that they come from the indigenous communities where they will perform their duties. This would allow for an increase in priests in the Amazon area, where there is a notable shortage.

South American bishops are in favor of this solution in the Amazon, which they feel severely limits the ability to practice the religion in the region. Only priests can consecrate the Eucharist, so without priests some 85% of villages in the Amazon cannot celebrate Mass. Pope Francis has stated that “the Eucharist is at the heart of the regular Christian community.” Inability to participate is barring people in the Amazon from fully engaging in the religion.

The issue is controversial because priests are generally expected to be celibate. Some feel that to allow non-celibate men to become priests would abolish this fundamental aspect of priesthood and that the exception for some would require increasing exception. Naysayers argue that this exception will spread to more and more of the world and become widespread, dismantling the preconceived ideas of priesthood and threatening the moral standards of the church itself.

Allowing exceptions for non-celibate priests in the Amazon region would be a solution to the shortage of priests in the area, but some feel that the means do not justify the ends and that all priests worldwide should be celibate.

Expert Corner:

Written by Professor of Religious Studies Dr. Jeffrey Long

The issue of celibacy in the priesthood has a complex and interesting history, according to Professor of Religious Studies Dr. Jeffrey Long. Catholic priests have not always been celibate. This was not originally part of the job description. For over half the history of the church, up until the 12th century, priests were not expected to be celibate. This became standard as a way of preserving church property ownership.

“It was not until the first and second Lateran Councils, in the 12th century, that the Church declared that priests had to be celibate,” Long said. “The reasoning behind this ruling was that the Church was losing property when the sons of priests inherited Church land and did not, themselves, choose to go on and become priests.”

This is in contrast to what many believe: that celibacy in priesthood became law for strictly moral reasons. In fact, it was motivated by a desire to keep priests from having sons and therefore retain the church’s land.

According to Long, the shortage of priests in the Amazon should override the celibacy rule. “The pressing need for priests would seem to be a compelling reason to rethink this policy: a policy without which the Church survived, and indeed thrived, for over a thousand years,” Long said.

It is yet to be seen what the council of bishops will have to say about this issue and what Pope Francis will decide. Pope Francis may allow married men in the Amazon to become priests, in which case the exception may permeate into other areas of the world as well where there is a similar shortage of priests.