Egan Says Celibacy Debate "Legitimate"
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
Edward Cardinal Egan may be retired from the New York Archdiocese, but he is sparking a new debate over the celibacy of priests.
During an interview on an Albany radio station earlier this month, Egan said the Catholic Church will sooner or later have to talk about letting priests get married.
The Cardinal told host Fred Dicker that the issue is a "perfectly legitimate discussion."
Egan says there has been a decrease in the number of priests in the Church and a change may be coming.
"I think it has to be looked at and I'm not so sure it wouldn't be a good idea to decide on the basis of geography and culture not to make an across-the-board determination. You know that there are many oriental, Catholic, the Roman Catholic Rights, in which they do get married, no problem at all," said Egan.
The official church policy on celibacy has remained unchanged for centuries and the Vatican considers the matter a closed issue.