Pope on celibacy, populism and his "moments of emptiness"

[Heddi]

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/pope-interview-german-paper-warns-populism-46011746

Pope Francis says the church must study whether it's possible to ordain married men to minister in remote communities facing priest shortages.

In an interview published Thursday with Germany's Die Zeit, Francis stressed that removing the celibacy rule is not the answer to the Catholic Church's priest shortage. But he expressed an openness to studying whether so-called "viri probati" — or married men of proven faith — could be ordained.

"We must consider if viri probati is a possibility. Then we must determine what tasks they can perform, for example, in remote communities," he was quoted as saying.

The "viri probati" proposal has been around for decades, but it has drawn fresh attention under history's first Latin American pope thanks in part to his appreciation of the challenges facing the church in places like Brazil, a huge Catholic country with an acute shortage of priests.
..
In the first major interview that Francis has given a German newspaper, the pope was asked whether he experienced moments in which he doubted the existence of God. He responded: "I, too, know moments of emptiness."

But, he pointed out periods of crisis are also a chance to grow, saying a believer who doesn't experience that remains "infantile."

[TygrBright]

1. Because that would totally be better than ordaining people with vaginas, of COURSE. n/t