Pope Francis has abandoned his plan to allow married men to become priests in a surprise U-turn after opposition from Catholic Church conservatives. A statement from the Vatican said: “The Amazon challenges us, the Pope writes, to overcome limited perspectives and not to content ourselves with solutions that address only part of the situation.” The ordeal surrounding Amazonian bishops began in October, after Pope Francis invited them to the Vatican for a synod, or assembly.
Francis attracted criticism from the conservative wing of the Church when he suggested married men in the region could become priests, a policy that aims to address the shortage in the region.
This was seen by some as a contradiction of the traditional Catholic values of celibacy, leading to swathes of criticism in the Vatican’s direction.
A letter was written and signed by over 100 historians, academics and clergy, lambasting Pope Francis for the meeting with Amazonian bishops, even referring to his actions as “sacrilegious”
The combative message written by conservative figures in the Catholic Church said: “We respectfully ask Pope Francis to repent publicly and unambiguously of these objectively grave sins and of all the public offences that he has committed against God and the true religion, and to make reparation for these offences.
“We respectfully ask all the bishops of the Catholic Church to offer fraternal correction to Pope Francis for these scandals, and to warn their flocks that according to the divinely revealed teaching of the Catholic faith, they will risk eternal damnation if they follow his example of offending against the First Commandment.”
Also present at the meeting were statuettes of “fertility goddess” Pachamama, a god worshipped predominantly in the Andes and also known as the ‘Earth Mother’.
The indigenous deity did not go down well with some in the Catholic Church, with some dubbing the statuettes as “pagan idols” and a “false goddess of mother earth”.
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Benedict requested his name be taken off a book just one day before it was due to be published.
Amid the controversy, his personal secretary said: “The pope emeritus knew that the cardinal was preparing a book and he sent him a text on the priesthood, authorising him to use it as he wanted.
“But he did not approve a project for a co-authored book and he had not seen or authorised the cover. It is a misunderstanding that does not raise questions about Cardinal Sarah’s [co-author of the book] good faith.”