Pope Francis Signals Willingness to Discuss Ordaining Married Men to Priesthood:
"“The Brazilian bishops, especially the Pope’s close friend Cardinal Claudio Hummes, have expressly requested Pope Francis to enable married priests in Brazil to return to their pastoral ministry,” Boff said interview with the German daily Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger.
In Amazonia, the proportion of priests to laypersons is particularly low, with one priest for every 10,000 faithful. Evangelical Protestantism has made significant inroads in South America, with numerous conversions from Catholicism to evangelical and Pentecostal churches.
According to a 2014 report by the Pew Research Center, at least 90 percent of Latin America’s population was Catholic during most of the 20th century, whereas now the number has dropped to below 70 percent. “In nearly every country surveyed,” Pew found, “the Catholic Church has experienced net losses from religious switching, as many Latin Americans have joined evangelical Protestant churches or rejected organized religion altogether.”"
'via Blog this'
