Theologist says married men may undergo difficult review process to become priests

SAN ANTONIO – The head of the Catholic church is studying the possibility of removing the celibacy rule.

The study would examine whether it's feasible to ordain married men of proven faith to minister in remote communities that are facing a shortage of priests.

"In places in Latin America, and also Mexico, that’s a real issue. I've heard of cases where Catholics have not seen a priest or have not celebrated the Eucharist for several months, just because of the scarcity of the priests," said Dr. Oswald Nira, head of the theology department at Our Lady of the Lake University.

Nira believes married men who are selected to be priests would go through a difficult review process.

"It wouldn't just be anybody, no. I'm sure there would be some kind of review process, and through that process, they would determine which men had the respect and virtue," Nira said.

Despite the Pope's comments, Nira doesn't believe it's an issue that will be decided overnight.

"The church moves very deliberately, and so they're going to be very attentive to what the needs are, what the challenges are and what the response should be. And they'll move in that way," Nira said.

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