Pope’s No 2 says clerical celibacy ‘up for discussion’

The Pope’s second in command has opened the door to a conversation on priestly celibacy by saying the tradition “is not dogma or a law of divine origin” and so up for discussion.

In an interview with Venezuelan newspaper El Universal, Archbishop Pietro Parolin, the new secretary of state of the Vatican, said celibacy “is not a church dogma and it can be discussed because it is a church tradition”.

However, he also cautioned the matter is “a great challenge for the Pope”.