According to reports, the leader of the Catholic church, Pope Francis, has revealed that the church may be considering changing the ‘tradition’ and making married men priests.

In an interview granted to German weekly newspaper die Zeit, by Pope Francis, he revealed that the Catholic church may be considering allowing married men become ordained as priests.

The decision is said to have been prompted by a shortage of priests in some remote areas.

The pope was quoted as saying:

“We must think about whether viri probati are a possibility. Then we have to decide what tasks they can take on, for example in remote communities.”

Some members of the church have welcomed this development as they believe it will take care of the need to have more priests in some remote areas where they are lacking. They are of the belief that older married men with ‘long commitment to the church’ and not only people that took an oath of celibacy, should be considered.

In 2014, Pope Francis was quoted as saying that there were married priests in the church, with people believing he was referring to some priests of Eastern churches, some Anglican ministers who joined the Catholic church, and some Coptic Catholics.