Married priests ‘the answer to shortages’

A lay Catholic group has come out in support of the Bishop of Kilmore, Leo O’Reilly’s position on the ordination of married men.

The Association of Catholics in Ireland (ACI) has welcomed the initiative by Dr O’Reilly requesting his fellow Irish bishops to set up a commission to study the possibility of ordaining married men to the priesthood as well as appointing female deacons.

The ACI says Bishop O’Reilly’s proposals reflect elements of its own recent submission to Pope Francis for consideration at the Synod on the Family to be held in Rome next month.