Church hails Vatican decision on married priest

KOCHI: The Catholic clergy has welcomed the Vatican’s decision to welcome married priests into its fold and noted that it was a historic decision.Kerala Catholic Bishops Council spokesperson Fr Stephen Alathara, welcoming the Vatican’s decision, said the move might have come as part of the unification of the Anglican Church. “The decision was only for the married priests who want to get converted to Catholicism. But this does not mean that those who want to become priests can get married. “There is no policy change and a person has to maintain celibacy if he wants to become a priest,” he said. Welcoming the decision, Syro Malabar Church spokesperson Fr Paul Thelakkat said there was nothing new in it. “It was already in practice in the Eastern Church and now it has come to the Western Church,” he said. He said this privilege is given to those who get reunified with the Catholic Church. However, he maintained that there were no married priests in Latin Catholics. Jacobite Church spokesperson Fr Varghese Kallapara said it was a sacramental decision and was welcome by all. “This shows that the universal Syrian Church and the universal Catholic Church are coming more closer,” he said.