Revise celibacy rule for priests, says pope's adviser

A senior Vatican official has said the Roman Catholic church should "revise" the requirement for priests to be celibate, while acknowledging that some will view the idea as "heretical".

- Harriet Sherwood

Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, who is based in the Vatican's doctrinal office and is an adviser to Pope Francis, said: "I would revise the requirement that priests have to be celibate. Experience has shown me that this is something we need to seriously think about." 

The church had "lost many great priests because they chose marriage", he told the Times of Malta.

There was a place for celibacy but the church also had to take into consideration that priests sometimes fall in love, and were forced to choose between that and their vocation, Scicluna said. "Some priests cope with that by secretly engaging in sentimental relationships."

He added: "This is probably the first time I'm saying it publicly and it will sound heretical to some people."