Catholic Bishop ‘Will Make Every Effort’ To Ordain Married Men As Priests

A Belgian Catholic bishop declared his intention to ordain married men to the priesthood within two years, setting up a direct confrontation with Pope Leo XIV over one of the Church’s most entrenched traditions.

Bishop Johan Bonny of the Diocese of Antwerp laid out his plan in a pastoral letter published March 20 addressing how his diocese would implement the synod on synodality, according to The Pillar Catholic. “The question is no longer whether the Church can ordain married men as priests, but when it will do so, and who will do it,” Bonny wrote.

Bonny pledged to personally identify and recruit candidates, ensuring they receive theological preparation and pastoral training comparable to other seminarians. He cited a collapsing pipeline of celibate vocations, saying the number of unmarried men pursuing the priesthood had dropped to “just above zero.” (RELATED: ROOKE: Three Left-Leaning Catholic Cardinals Defy Their Vocation, Launch Attacks On US)

The announcement carries serious consequences. Bishops in the 1.4-billion-member Church swear obedience to the pope, and publicly announcing a potential break with doctrine is extraordinarily rare, Reuters reported. Acting without Vatican authorization could lead to excommunication.

The Bishop of Antwerp, Johan Bonny, announces plans to ordain married men as priests by 2028. https://t.co/lfOtkf4TSb

— The Brussels Times (@BrusselsTimes) March 20, 2026

Bonny has a history of bucking Rome. He publicly backed recognition of same-sex relationships in 2014, co-authored a 2022 Flemish bishops’ proposal for same-sex blessing rites that contradicted Vatican directives, and joined Belgian prelates who questioned Church abortion teaching in 2024, Gaudiumpress reported. Canon lawyers noted that no individual bishop holds the authority to unilaterally change universal Church discipline.

Pope Francis firmly rejected “optional celibacy” during his pontificate and refused to act on the matter after a 2018 bishops’ summit formally requested it, according to Reuters. Leo XIV has not addressed the issue directly but has praised celibacy as “undivided love for Christ and His Church,” The Pillar Catholic reported.

Bonny also attacked the Vatican commission that opposed ordaining women as deacons, calling its arguments “theologically weak and anthropologically outdated,” according to The Pillar Catholic.