Vatican to discuss celibacy requirement for priests

VATICAN CITY- Pope Benedict XVI opened a summit yesterday on the celibacy requirement for clergy, spurred by a married African archbishop who has been excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church.

The Vatican insists that the policy itself is not open for discussion, but that the meeting was called to examine the implications of the “disobedience” by Zambian Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo. The Vatican said it would issue a detailed statement after the closed-door meeting.Milingo incurred automatic excommunication in September when he ordained four married American men as bishops in defiance of the Vatican.And the Times of Zambia reports Archbishop Milingo has appealed to Catholic bishops in Zambia to stop discouraging Catholics from attending his service and healing ministries when he visits the country.The Synod of Bishops in October 2005 rejected suggestions that the mandatory celibacy requirement for priests be dropped.But Milingo’s excommunication has brought the issue back into the spotlight.The Vatican said the meeting would only examine the requests for dispensation made by priests wishing to marry and the requests for readmission made by the clergy who had married in recent years.Nampa-AP-Times of ZambiaThe Vatican said it would issue a detailed statement after the closed-door meeting.Milingo incurred automatic excommunication in September when he ordained four married American men as bishops in defiance of the Vatican.And the Times of Zambia reports Archbishop Milingo has appealed to Catholic bishops in Zambia to stop discouraging Catholics from attending his service and healing ministries when he visits the country.The Synod of Bishops in October 2005 rejected suggestions that the mandatory celibacy requirement for priests be dropped.But Milingo’s excommunication has brought the issue back into the spotlight.The Vatican said the meeting would only examine the requests for dispensation made by priests wishing to marry and the requests for readmission made by the clergy who had married in recent years.Nampa-AP-Times of Zambia