Irish Examiner View: Pope says no to married priests - Francis baulks at new reform

In one of the most significant and controversial decisions of his papacy, Pope Francis has dismissed a proposal to allow married men to be ordained in the Amazon region of South America to ease an acute shortage of priests there.

Amazonian bishops backed the measure at a Synod in Rome last October, arguing in favour of allowing “viriprobati” — married “men of proven virtue” — to join the priesthood, but the decision needed the Pope’s approval.