With Married Eastern Catholic Priests, Pope Francis Shows Catholic Church Respects Eastern Traditions

By Father Ronald Roberson, CSP

It was recently announced that Pope Francis had decided to allow Eastern Catholic bishops anywhere in the world to ordain married men to the priesthood. Previously, even if Eastern Catholic bishops in their homelands could ordain married men, this was not allowed in other parts of the world, including North America. The tradition of ordaining married men to the