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Pope Francis has requested that Roman Catholic priests be given the right to get married. The request applies to priests in Brazil, and is on the agenda for an upcoming synod (church council) in the Amazon region. The controversial move would address the critical shortage of men joining the priesthood

Chaplain sentenced after harassing mistress By Vince Little, Stars and Stripes Pacific edition, Saturday, September 22, 2007 CAMP ZAMA, Japan — A married Army chaplain who was involved in an affair with an Arizona woman pleaded guilty Thursday to adultery, unbecoming conduct and four counts of cyberstalking at his court-martial. Capt. Mike Myers was sentenced to six months in prison after entering his plea in the courtroom of this Army post near Tokyo. The former chaplain for the 441st Military Intelligence Battalion, 500th Military Intelligence Brigade also will be dismissed from the Army and receive a reprimand stemming from his...

Last Updated: Thursday, 4 November, 2004, 14:12 GMT Church to help Greek priests wed The Greek Orthodox Church has begun a campaign to help young men who want to become priests find a spouse willing to accept their austere lifestyle. Modern Greek women are said to be increasingly unready to marry men whose vocation calls for long beards and black robes to be worn at all times. The Church says it wants to prepare women for marrying into the priesthood. Greek Orthodox clergy are allowed to be married, as long as the wedding takes place before they are ordained. Because...

No matter how decisively His Holiness John Paul II spells out the requirement for the clergy to remain celibate, proponents keep bringing it up. Without denying the advantages of lifting the celibacy rule, the Holy Father, exercising his pastoral discretion, does not think a married clergy expedient in the Roman Rite. Proponents of a married priesthood argue (1) that it would solve the priest shortage, and (2) that married priests would be more understanding of the problems of Catholic marriage; especially in regard to the Church’s restrictions on birth control and divorce and remarriage.     Having been a married Protestant...

Catholic Scandals:A Crisis for Celibacy? The Real Story Behind Clerical "Pedophilia" & What It Really Means by Leon J. Podles  The Catholic Church has been the object of much unwanted attention, some of which it has brought upon it-self. Dozens of cases involving clerical "pedophilia" have been tried in the courts, several priests have gone to jail, and various dioceses have had to pay out tens or perhaps even hundreds of millions of dollars (the exact sums are often in sealed settlements) to the victims.There have been some high-profile cases: Bishop Symons of Palm Beach resigned after he admitted...