RCC bishop of Belgium suggests ordaining married men as priests

Bishop of Antwerp Johan Bonny. Photo: Brussels Times

On March 19, 2026, Bishop of Antwerp Johan Bonny announced his intention to ordain married men as priests by 2028, despite the ban on marriage for priests in the RCC, reports Brussels Times.

In a published pastoral letter, the bishop noted that the number of unmarried candidates for priesthood in recent years "has fallen to almost zero," which, according to him, calls into question the future of church ministry in the region.

Johan Bonny emphasized that the question of ordaining married men emerges in every synodal dialogue among believers, said, adding that it was no longer a matter of whether the Church will take this step, but rather when and how it will do so.

The bishop also pointed out that married priests already exist, particularly in Eastern Catholic Churches, and described as “illusory” the idea that the Church could have a viable future without ordaining married men.

He announced his intention to personally work with candidates and organize preparation for them, and also plans to discuss this initiative with other bishops of Belgium and the Vatican in the coming years.

It should be noted that in the RCC, Latin rite churches have mandatory celibacy, and married men are generally not ordained as priests, so such an initiative has caused resonance and criticism, since changing this practice falls under Vatican competence and cannot be decided at the level of an individual diocese.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the Vatican published a report excluding female priesthood.

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