Britain's most senior cardinal said that Roman Catholic priests should be able to marry and have children.
Cardinal Keith O'brien, who will be part of the conclave tasked with choosing a new pope to replace Benedict XVI, said the church's requirement for priests to be celibate was not of "divine origin" and should be reconsidered.
The 74-year-old told the BBC that many priests have found it very difficult to cope with celibacy as they lived out their priesthood, and felt the need of a companion, of a woman, to whom they could get married and raise a family of their own.
O'brien will have a say in who succeeds Benedict after he stands down on February 28.
Cardinal Keith O'brien, who will be part of the conclave tasked with choosing a new pope to replace Benedict XVI, said the church's requirement for priests to be celibate was not of "divine origin" and should be reconsidered.
The 74-year-old told the BBC that many priests have found it very difficult to cope with celibacy as they lived out their priesthood, and felt the need of a companion, of a woman, to whom they could get married and raise a family of their own.
O'brien will have a say in who succeeds Benedict after he stands down on February 28.
