In 2005, at a Vatican synod on the Eucharist, Cardinal Angelo Scola floated a trial balloon. “To confront the issue of the shortage of priests,” the then Patriarch of Venice said, “some ... have put forward the request to ordain married faithful of proven faith and virtue, the so-called viri probati.”
The cardinal’s balloon did not attract much attention. The final synod document said tersely: “this hypothesis was evaluated as a path not to follow”.
For the last decade, the phrase viri probati was only heard in a few circles. But last week, Pope Francis said the Church should reflect on whether the Holy Spirit is demanding viri probati. That doesn’t mean making celibacy optional, he says.
