As many as 10 bishops in England and Wales are in charge of dioceses so short of priests that they would welcome the chance for the Church to discern whether ordaining married men would be the way forward, a retired bishop said this week.
Bishop Crispian Hollis, former head of Portsmouth diocese, says in a letter to The Tablet this week that he is increasingly convinced that, “sooner rather than later” the Church in Britain and further afield “will rightly have to move towards the ordaining of married men”.
In an interview with The Tablet, Bishop Hollis said he was ready to help the Movement for Married Clergy in whatever way he could.
In his 23 years as Bishop of Portsmouth, he said, the tide had turned from there being plenty of priests to go round, to a situation where he was for ever “scratching around” to find enough priests to run the parishes.
You can read the full story and Bishop Hollis’ letter in this week’s Tablet.
Above: Bishop Hollis. Photo: Mazur/catholicchurch.org.uk
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