Pope allows married Anglians to become Catholic priests in bid to tempt them to defect from the UK Daily Mail reports that Pope Benedict XVI is moving beyond allowing married Anglican priests and bishops to become Catholic priests to allow married converts to become priests - a giant allowance in order to recruit new Catholics.
The Roman Catholic Church is to allow married Anglican converts to become priests in a radical concession to tempt them to defect.
Church of England bishops who switch allegiance to Rome will be able to ordain them, the Vatican said yesterday.
Married Anglican vicars have been able to convert and join the Rome priesthood since the 1950s, but this is the first time that married non-vicars have been allowed to become priests.
The decision to allow Anglican converts to keep their tradition of married priests is a break with rules that have applied in western Catholic churches for nearly 900 years.
The Vatican was at pains to insist that it does not mean a break with the celibacy for clergy nor the first step towards a married priesthood.
But leading Anglo-Catholics confirmed that CofE bishops who switch loyalty to Rome will have the power to ordain their own priests and that - with permission from the Pope - some of the newly-ordained priests may be married.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1226449/Pope-allows-married-men-priests-bid-attract-Anglican-recruits.html#ixzz0WR3tHrS9
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