Reports have again surfaced that the Roman Catholic Church is considering releasing its priests from their vow of celibacy.

Pope Francis (Jorge Maria Bergoglio) appears to be leaning towards ending the millennia old tradition of priestly celibacy and giving Catholic bishops the power to decide whether to end celibacy for priests in their jurisdiction, believes Professor Des Cahill, an Australian academician who was once a Catholic priest.

Like Us on Facebook

Cahill said that while Pope Francis appears to be seriously contemplating ending celibacy for priests, he is thought to be against Catholic Bishops marrying. He noted that past comments from the Pope seem to indicate the Pontiff's belief that celibacy must end.

Professor Cahill, an intercultural studies professor at the RMIT University in Melbourne, said the current mood towards ending celibacy is being driven by the dire need to add more priests in order to reverse an ever steepening decline in the number of Catholic priests worldwide.

''I think the pressure is building up that a change may be now on the way, perhaps during this pontificate or perhaps the next one,'' he said.

Celibacy has not always been the norm for Catholic priests and was imposed 900 years after the death of Jesus Christ. Priests of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which most closely resembles the Catholic Church, have always been allowed to marry.

Professor Cahill feels a majority of Catholic priests are in favor of priests marrying. They are supported in this by a majority of Catholics worldwide.

He said there is a growing sense that Catholic priests need to reflect society and this means some of them will be married, some will have families while others will remain single.