VATICAN CITY (AP) — Catholic bishops from across the Amazon called Saturday for the ordination of married men as priests to address the clergy shortage in the region, an historic proposal that would ...

Last year, Pope Francis called for "bold proposals" to meet the spiritual needs of Catholics in the Amazon, a vast region with a scarcity of clerics. Last year, Pope Francis called for "bold proposals ...

Catholic bishops approved a proposal Saturday allowing some married men to be ordained as priests in the Amazon region. The proposal, which must be approved by Pope Francis, would be a historic change ...

Organizers of a Vatican meeting on the Amazon defended plans to introduce debate on married priests, saying Thursday the proposal represents the “the voice of the local church” and isn’t an official ...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican formally opened debate Monday on letting married men be ordained as priests in remote parts of the Amazon where priests are so few that Catholics can go weeks or months ...

Pope Francis closed the door Jan. 27 on his making celibacy optional for all Catholic priests, but also expressed openness to allowing older married men to be ordained to the priesthood where there is ...

Pope Francis has declined to approve the ordination of married men to address the priest shortage in the Amazon. In an eagerly-awaited document, Francis didn’t even refer to recommendations by ...

Brazilian Archbishop Jaime Spengler, OFM, one of the 21 men chosen by Pope Francis to become a cardinal in the next consistory on Dec. 8, confirmed plans for a trial run of an Amazonian rite of the ...

A new Vatican document suggests the possibility of married men as priests and women in leading roles in the Catholic church in the Amazon. This question has been raised by a preparatory document for a ...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis refused Wednesday to approve the ordination of married men or women as deacons to address a shortage of priests in the Amazon, sidestepping a fraught issue that has ...

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. VATICAN CITY (AP) — Organizers of a Vatican ...