Amazon bishops call on pope for ordination of married men as priests

They also urged the Vatican to reopen the debate on ordaining women as deacons

Catholic bishops from across the Amazon have called for the ordination of married men as priests to address a scarcity of clergy in the region, a challenge to the centuries-old tradition in the church.

The majority of the 180 bishops from nine South American countries in the Amazon basin region on Saturday also called for the Vatican to reopen a debate on ordaining women as deacons, saying "it is urgent for the church in the Amazon to promote and confer ministries for men and women in an equitable manner".