Bishops in Quebec have started the discussion into possibly ordaining married men into the Catholic priesthood. Auxiliary Bishop Marc Pelchat revealed that this might help solve the declining number of priests performing sacraments to its church members.
Some 80 people met with Pelchat to discuss the future of the Catholic Church in the Canadian city. The Le Parvis de Quebec, a lay group, organized the conference after people raised their concerns to Pelchat, who also serves as a theology and religious studies dean at the Laval University.
"In the last decade, there has been a significant decline in the demand for sacraments, including even the funeral rite," Pelchat said. "The church has become like a vestige of the past, destined to be marginalized," he added and said, "We need to change this way of doing things."
Pelchat also said that considerations were being given to ordaining older male married members of the church who have proven their "ecclesial commitment."
The Catholic's Canon Laws do not allow married men to enter the priesthood because they are required to follow a vow of chastity.
"[They are] bound to celibacy which is a special gift of God," Pope Francis said in a 2017 interview. "By which sacred ministers can adhere more easily to Christ with an undivided heart and are able to dedicate themselves more freely to the service of God and humanity."
There are, however, a small number of Catholic priests who have wives, including those who have converted to Catholicism from the Episcopal Church.
Last summer, the Vatican permitted a Catholic nun in Quebec to officiate a wedding with the help of a local bishop due to the shortage of priests. Sister Pierrette Thiffault serves in a diocese with just 16 priests and no deacons for 35 parishes.
"It is an exceptional situation, not something habitual," Bishop Dorylas Moreau said after Thiffault's story emerged in the news.
