"Vatican religious life chief: Pope wants priestly celibacy questioned at Amazon Synod"

Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, said it was Pope Francis who directed that bishops at the upcoming Amazon Synod discuss ordaining married men to the priesthood.

In a July 10 interview with Paraguay’s ABC Color daily, Cardinal Braz referred to the drop in priestly vocations in Europe and elsewhere, despite growth in Africa and Asia. Regarding the disparity, he said it was Pope Francis who came up with the idea of ordaining married men, “viri probati,” to work in under-served areas such as the Amazonian region. “Francis launched that idea to be verified and studied, not for the entire Church, which has its problems, but at the same time is not the great central problem.”

The October 6–27 synod in Rome will draw together bishops from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela, and Suriname...

As prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Braz has authority over discipline over all male and female religious congregations and institutes. He was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011...

Braz called for change among the various religious orders. He told Paraguayan daily Ultima Hora on July 14, “You have to look at what is fundamental and what is not. Many things of tradition, which are more of an ancient culture, are no longer useful.” As for the challenges arrayed against priests and religious, the Brazilian cardinal said that as prefect, he strives “for the transformation of formation.”

The formation of those in religious life, he said, should be “a life process” and a “path” that “requires a lot of attention, responsibility and the ability to forgive, to listen.” As for the transformation of religious life and the vocation crisis, Braz said, “I believe it is a problem of authenticity of life. It is also a problem that in many areas of society there is denial of God, not a denial in theory but in practice. So, we have to see now what is fundamental and what is not. Many things of tradition, many that are of the past culture, are no longer useful.”...

in his 2010 book On Heaven and Earth, he wrote that he [Francis] was in favor of maintaining celibacy “for the moment” but that it was something that could change... in 2017... [Francis] told a German interviewer that the Church “must be open” to ordaining viri probati, “faithful” and “tested” married men.