Panel asks Vatican to end ban on Eastern Catholic married priests in North America
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
A group of Roman Catholic bishops and Orthodox Christians wants the Vatican to lift a ban on married priests for a small segment of the American church.
The committee wants the Vatican to allow ordination for married men in Eastern-rite Catholic churches in North America.
Eastern-rite Catholics accept the authority of the pope but have many of their own rituals and liturgy. There are more than a dozen Eastern Catholic church groups in North America, but their total numbers are small.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Eastern Catholic churches in the Middle East and Europe already ordain married men. But the Vatican banned the practice in America in the 1920s, after Latin-rite bishops complained it was confusing for parishioners.
The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation issued its call to end the ban Friday.