Pope Francis is considering allowing married men to become priests in the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis says that the change may be made so that men who are already married can become Catholic priests. However, it wouldn’t allow unmarried men that are already priests to get married.

The reason behind Pope Francis’ considerations is the number of Catholic priests. He says that there is a shortage of Catholic priests and that allowing married men to become priests could address the issue. The Pope claims that the lack of priests is an “enormous problem.”

The Catholic Church does sometimes allow married men to become priests, but those are under very certain circumstances. The religion has a long tradition of not allowing married men to be priests. It believes that a priest should be celibate in order to be more like Jesus Christ. Pope Francis has stood by this belief until just recently, reports CNN.

While speaking of the change that the Catholic Church may face, Pope Francis says it should be

“fearless”. He went on to say that “fears close doors”. The Pope says that the change of allowing married men to become priests is able to be talked about because it is a tradition, and not a dogma.

Pope Francis has seen the shortages in priests that the Catholic Church is facing. His hails from Brazil, which is one of the countries with a lack of clergymen. Claudio Hummes, a Brazilian Cardinal, has been pushing for letting married men become priests in the Amazon. There is roughly one priest for every 10,000 Catholics in this area.