His statements made a splash Pope Francisduring a conversation with Argentine journalists, about the rule of celibacy for the Catholic clergy.

“This is not a dogma, this is a temporary rule, and not eternal, like the ordination of priests. It can also be revised,” the Pope stressed.

He added that “he doesn’t think that this change will increase the number of ordinations“, but is of the opinion that “sometimes the rule of celibacy can lead to androcracybecause if a priest does not know how to cooperate with women, he is immature, he lacks something.”

“The Vatican is dominated by men, but it is part of its culture and there is no specific culprit,” Francis said.

Finally, he stressed that “in the future, the way forward on the issue of clerical celibacy may be to adopt a ‘double rule’, as is the case in the Eastern Churches”, regarding the celibacy of bishops and the married life of ordinary priests.

On Monday, Pope Francis is celebrating the 10th anniversary of his election, well beyond the “two or three” years he once envisioned for the post and showing no signs of slowing down.

The first Hispanic pope in history has already made his mark and may have even more influence in the coming years.

Source: RES