Months after the Pope solemnly confirmed that only single men may be ordained to the priesthood in the Latin Church (Sacramentum Caritatis) and in the 40th anniversary of Sacerdotalis Caelibatus (by a Pope who had no fear of innovations), it seems that some simply do not wish this issue to be forgotten:
The question of the ordination of married men "may come about"The question of the ordination of married men to meet the shortage of priests "may come about" according to Cardinal Roger Etchegaray in an interview that appeared Sunday in Le Parisien/Aujourd'hui en France.
"The question may come about. As it already takes place in the Greek Catholic churches," the cardinal replied to the question of whether the ordination of married men could be considered by the French episcopate in response to "the vocation crisis.”
"But we must be clear ... this is not the 'the' solution to the crisis" added the 85 year old prelate who is associate dean of the Sacred College at the Vatican.
In the course of the interview mention was also made of the recent controversy concerning Pope Benedict XVI’s text facilitating the celebration of Mass in Latin.
"The pope has published the text for the sake of the unity of the Church, in hope of bringing back traditionalists. It is not known whether it will work – let's wait" says Roger Etchegaray.
The "motu proprio" of Pope Benedict XVI authorising once again the Mass in Latin was published on 7 July by the Vatican and came into force on 14 September.
The announcement of the return of this practice was the cause of much emotion among the faithful, but in reality few priests have been seized by requests for Mass in Latin since its enactment.
(France Presse/Translation: Mornac)
