NPR

Pope Francis Won't Allow Married Men As Priests, Women As Deacons

Bishops from the Amazon region had sought the changes to address a shortage of clergy. But some Roman Catholic conservatives warned that enacting them would lead to the end of clerical celibacy rules.
Pope Francis says married male deacons and women can "regularly assume important responsibilities" for the Catholic Church in the Amazon region, but he turned down bishops' request to allow those deacons to become priests and women to become deacons.

Pope Francis has sidestepped a request for married men to be ordained as priests and women to be ordained as deacons, saying the Roman Catholic Church should find other ways to address a dire shortage of clergy in South America's Amazon region. Bishops in that part of the world had asked for fundamental

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