MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Celibacy ‘is not Church dogma’ and ‘can be discussed’, says Vatican’s number two

Parolin: any changes have to take into account “the will of God, Church history, as well as openness to the signs of the times.”

The Vatican’s new secretary of state has surprised many in the Catholic Church, after saying in an interview with a Venezuelan newspaper that the issue of priests remaining celibate is up for discussion.

Archbishop Pietro Parolin, who was appointed to his position by Pope Francis just two weeks ago, told El Universal that celibacy was not “Church dogma,” but rather a “Church tradition” and therefore “can be discussed.”

He cautioned however, that a number of factors should be considered before a change takes place.

“The effort made by the Church to enact ecclesiastical celibacy should be considered. No one can say simply that it is in the past... we can talk, reflect, and deepen on these subjects that are not definite, and we can think of some modifications, but always with consideration of unity, and all according to the will of God,” he said.

The comments by the newly-appointed secretary of state, effectively the pope’s number two, has surprised both those inside and outside the Church, with some seeing the move as the latest development in a series of reforms since Francis became pontiff six months ago.

Parolin, who was previously the apostolic nuncio to Venezuela — the Vatican’s representative in the country — said in the interview that his position as secretary of state meant he was effectively “the closest collaborator of the pope” and had “tremendous responsibility.”

The Italian archbishop, who said he had only met Pope Francis once before his appointment as secretary of state, admitted in the interview he has not spent a lot of time with the pontiff so far.

“The truth is I have not talked a lot with him... I can say, however, that I am very sympathetic to his understanding of the Church and especially to his style of simplicity and closeness to people,” he told the Venezuelan Caracas-based newspaper.

But the lack of communication between the Argentine-born pontiff and Parolin did not stop him from addressing the controversial issue of celibacy and suggesting that “modifications” were possible.

Parolin, 58, insisted that any changes to tradition would have to take into account a number of factors: “You have to take into account when making decisions, these criteria (the will of God, Church history), as well as openness to the signs of the times.”

However, the independent US newspaper, The National Catholic Reporter, played down Parolin’s comments, saying they represented “the standard moderate Catholic line,” highlighting that priestly celibacy is a “discipline” and “can therefore be revised.”

“Those points have been made many times by many different voices, and they don’t necessarily point to any specific policy decisions,” a blog by the newspaper said.

The Director of the Vatican’s Press Office Father Federico Lombardi agreed, saying the views expressed by Parolin were “in line with the teachings of the Church.”