Archbishop Charles Scicluna’s comments about priests and marriage made waves around the world because they were bold, unequivocal, broad, and coming from a senior Vatican official at a time when the Church is seriously considering change, according to three journalists based in Rome.
With the exception of the debate around gay blessings, it has been the most talked-about Vatican news item this month, according to Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, Christopher White.
“It was not just the Archbishop of Malta stating this, but a senior official who is expressly affiliated with the Vatican’s doctrinal office,” he said.
“The way Scicluna handled the sexual abuse crisis over the past two decades has garnered him a reputation as someone who is really clear-eyed. He is known to be a man who is not afraid to name the problem, point the finger at what’s wrong, identify who’s at fault and suggest solutions. And to many people it seems he is doing the same on this issue.”
In an interview with Times of Malta, Scicluna said the Church should look into revising its rules to allow Catholic priests the option to get married.
The time is ripe to “discuss the issue seriously” and “take decisions on it”, he said, adding that he has already openly spoken about it at the Vatican, but acknowledged it is ultimately not his decision to make, but the pope’s.
He was fielding questions about Catholic priests who secretly live in a romantic relationship while they publicly continue to serve their duties as priests.
The news spread quickly in Vatican circles and captured news headlines around the world.
By last Tuesday, former Irish president Mary McAleese came out publicly backing Scicluna’s calls to end the priestly celibacy rule.
Reuters’ senior correspondent in Rome Philip Pullella told Times of Malta the story “made an impact” in Catholic circles, especially in Rome, where celibacy occasionally surfaces as “a big issue”.
Scicluna’s comments were particularly captivating because of the significantly influential position he holds at the Vatican, said Pullella, who has covered the Vatican for more than 40 years under three papacies.
Apart from running the Church in Malta, Scicluna also serves as Adjunct Secretary of the Holy See’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Scicluna enjoys the reputation of a bold sex abuse investigator, Pullella said, and being one of the two adjunct secretaries of the Dicastery made it even bigger news.
“He is quite direct when he speaks about things he’s knowledgeable about. He was the first to use the word ‘omertà’ to describe hiding sexual abuse, for example,” Pullella said, adding that a lot of people respect him.
“To be honest, what he said in the interview was not new. Others have said it before him. But the way Scicluna put it was so clear and unequivocal even though he knew, as he said himself, it would sound heretical to some people.”
Issue debated for decades
This was not the first time the discussion emerged.
In an interview last March Pope Francis had discussed the possibility of revising the rule, saying “there is no contradiction for a priest to marry”.
The Vatican came close to changing the rule in 2019, when the Synod of Bishops overwhelmingly voted to allow married men in the Amazon region to become priests to help meet the needs of the Church there.
But ultimately Francis did not go ahead with the change.
White said Pope Francis has always been relatively cautious when expressing openness on the subject, and when the issue was seriously debated in 2019, it was only region-specific.
“What we saw from Scicluna was different because it was a broad endorsement of married clergy, expanding geographical limits,” he said.
“The rule is relatively easy to change, although it is hard to predict whether it will change any time soon. But I suspect this is an issue that has been coming up fairly regularly among senior Vatican officials lately.”
The Vatican is currently going through a period of reflection as part of the latest Synod of Bishops – a three-year process led by Gozitan Cardinal Mario Grech.
The synod will draw to a close in October.
'Explosive' comment ‘at a crucial time’
Dutch Catholic theologian Hendro Munsterman – who is also a Vatican correspondent for news website Nederlands Dagblad – pointed out that the synthesis report from last October’s synod explicitly said the topic should be treated during the period between the two sessions.
The document says “different opinions have been expressed about priestly celibacy. Its value is appreciated by all as richly prophetic and a profound witness to Christ; some ask, however, whether its appropriateness, theologically, for priestly ministry should necessarily translate into a disciplinary obligation in the Latin Church, above all in ecclesial and cultural contexts that make it more difficult. This discussion is not new but requires further consideration”.
Munsterman told Times of Malta the Church is currently going through a reflection period over that document before bishops reconvene in Rome in October, and the issue will possibly be back on the agenda then.
“Scicluna threw the explosive bomb during this crucial time in between the two synodal sessions,” he said.
“The timing is very interesting because it’s when the Church is asking itself very important questions about the future, and the issue is clearly on the table.”
It is not a new tradition either, Munsterman added. In his home country quite a few married Protestant pastors who converted to Catholicism were ordained priests into the Church while married. Despite being Catholic priests, they are not bound by the celibacy rule.
“The idea is opening up around the world and Scicluna knows this very well.”
Munsterman also observed how most Catholic believers tend to agree with optional marriage for priests but a huge chunk of the clergy remains resistant to it.
“Most of the clergy are the products of an old system, and if they agree to change that system, they feel like they would be admitting it was flawed,” he said.
“Also, celibacy tends to intensify clericalism and clerics benefit from it, as it often makes priests seem special, raising them to a higher, more saintly status among believers.”