The Times They Are (may be) A Changing!

On way back this morning from the school where I serve as chaplain, a headline on 'Le Figaro' daily paper caught my eye - 'Marriage of Priests - The Vatican launches a debate'. Going to page 9 I find it reported that shortly after his election, Pope Francis declared himself "in favour of mainaining clerical celebacy". The paper asks, then why raise the quesiton now? Well, in an interview in a Venezuelan paper, El Universal, Monsignor Pietro Parolin, Papal Nuncio, raised this possibility. This takes on a significance when we realise that Mgr Parolin on 15th October 2013 becomes the right hand man of the Pope as Vatican Secretary of State. Interesting. Either this is an interestng development or we will read of a 'clarification' from Mgr Parolin. Watch this space. Being a member of a religious congregation, the rule of celebacy affects us differently. On a personal level, it has all come too late for me - too old and ugly by now!                        AT