Vatican to allow conservative Anglicans to convert to Catholic priesthood

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican said Saturday that married Anglican priests will be admitted to the Catholic priesthood on a case-by-case basis as Rome makes it easier for conservative Anglicans to convert.

A surprise Vatican decision, announced 10 days earlier to make it easier for Anglicans to become Roman Catholics while retaining aspects of Anglican liturgy and identity, had left some wondering whether Rome would embrace married Anglican clergy in large numbers.

A Holy See statement Saturday quoted Cardinal William Levada, the Holy See’s guardian of doctrinal correctness, as saying the Vatican would consider accepting married Anglican priests into the Roman Catholic priesthood as it has in the past — evaluating each case on its own merits.

The Roman Catholic church requires its priests to be celibate, except in the case of the Eastern rite Catholics, who are allowed to be ordained if married. But over the last decades, it has also quietly allowed married Anglican clergy to stay priests when converting to Catholicism.

In no case could a married man become a bishop, and the new rules would exclude any married Anglican bishop from retaining that post.

As for possibly admitting married Anglican seminarians to the Catholic priesthood, Levada said “objective criteria about any such possibilities are to be developed” for approval by the Holy See.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi dismissed what he called media speculation that there was “disagreement about whether celibacy will be the norm for the future clergy” among converting Anglicans.