Pope Francis wants to allow 'lay brothers' to become heads of religious orders that include ordained priests
Pope Francis, seated in a wheelchair following knee treatment, looks on during an audience to readers of the weekly 'Christian Family' on May 21 at the Vatican. (Photo: AFP)
Pope Francis just took another step forward to declericalize the Roman Catholic Church. And what most people probably don't realize is that he did so by taking a step backward and rewinding the clock some four centuries.
The 85-year-old pope has just decreed that so-called "lay brothers" can be heads of their religious orders, even if these communities include priests.
In other words, a non-ordained member of a religious community can be the superior (or "boss") of those who are ordained presbyters.
The change, and it's a pretty big one, was announced May 18 by the Vatican's Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. The congregation said the pope issued a "rescript" (an official edict) to formalize this novelty.
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