The Pope just got done scolding Austrian priests for their disobedience in calling for married clergy (one thing) and female ordination (another.) So no sooner does the Pope say this when the Bishop of Antwerp, Johan Bonny, does almost the same thing.
In an interview with daily newspaper De Standard, The Bishop of Antwerp, Johan Bonny, said he was ready to ordain married men. He thinks that non-celibate priests might be an asset in Church pastoral work. The bishop said he appreciates celibacy because it can be a powerful attitude to have in “a consumerist society like ours, where sex is sometimes trivialised”: He reminded that the rule of celibacy does not pose essential doctrinal problems. It differs from the issue of women’s ordination in this respect. Bonny said that probably most of the Belgian bishops would welcome a change of direction with regards to the ordination of married men. Belgian Catholics might accept the ordination of women, but “this is a difficult issue worldwide.”
While he does not come out directly in favor of female ordination, he understates the difficulty with obvious purpose.
How does the Church survive her Bishops?
