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Pope Francis recently suggested that the Catholic Church is now open to reconsidering its 1,000-year-old celibacy rules.
The act of celibacy was put into effect in the 11th century as a way to ensure the clergy’s money would stay within the church, instead of with their family, according to the Daily Mail.
The Vatican apparently enforces the rule among priests, but there has been growing pushback against the ban.
Germany’s Catholic Church voted for a resolution asking Francis to end the obligation for priests to remain celibate, according to the report.
Francis noted that the ban was only “temporary,” and that there was no contradiction for a priest to take a wife.
The news came in a recent interview with Infobae, an Argentine publication.
Francis said: “There is no contradiction for a priest to marry. Celibacy in the Western Church is a temporary prescription.”
“It is not eternal like priestly ordination, which is for ever whether you like it or not. On the other hand, celibacy is a discipline.”