Cardinal Jaime Spengler [Appointed Bishop by Benedict XVI], Head of Latin American Bishops Conference CELAM, Calls for Openness to Ordaining Viri Probati (Married Priests) During Synod in 2024: Archdiocese is “investing in permanent deacons: Maybe in the future these married men could also be ordained as priests for a specific community.”

 

His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Spengler, OFM, of Brazil

(age 65)

Source (April 1, 2026): https://ewtnvatican.com/articles/pope-francis-brazilian-pick-for-cardinal-urges-openness-to-ordaining-married-priests-in-region-3549

EXCERPT:

Spengler once again indicated he is open to ordaining married men, so-called “viri probati,” to serve as priests — a subject much debated during the Vatican’s Amazon synod in 2019.

The archbishop and future cardinal said at a briefing for the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican Oct. 8 [2024] that his archdiocese is “investing in permanent deacons: Maybe in the future these married men could also be ordained as priests for a specific community.”

The issue of the priestly ordination of married men — currently not allowed by Church discipline in the Latin rite — is “delicate,” Spengler noted. “I don’t know if it could be the best solution to the shortage of priests, but we need frankness and openness to deal with it. It’s a journey.”

“I don’t have prepackaged answers,” he continued. “We can and must face the issue with courage, keeping in mind theology but also grasping the signs of the times.”

Spengler, who has a doctorate in philosophy from the Pontifical University Antonianum in Rome, was born in Gaspar in the state of Santa Caterina, just north of where he now lives in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.