Cardinal Keith O'Brien: Catholic Priests Should Be Allowed to Marry

In a break from tradition, a Scottish cardinal said the marriage ban imposed on Catholic priests should be reviewed by the next Pope.

During a BBC interview on Friday, Cardinal Keith O'Brien said the church's marriage ban has no "divine origin" and should be lifted to help priest struggling with the demands of a celibate lifestyle.

"For example the celibacy of the clergy, whether priests should marry - Jesus didn't say that," O'Brien said. "There was a time when priests got married, and of course we know at the present time in some branches of the church - in some branches of the Catholic church - priests can get married, so that is obviously not of divine of origin and it could get discussed again." 

O'Brien, a senior Catholic figure and the only representative of the UK that will meet at the Vatican next month to select a new Pope, said he was too busy to consider marriage for himself but added that other priest have a hard time with the ban and many forego their service to the church because of it.

"I would be very happy if others had the opportunity of considering whether or not they could or should get married," he said. "It is a free world and I realise that many priests have found it very difficult to cope with celibacy as they lived out their priesthood and felt the need of a companion, of a woman, to whom they could get married and raise a family of their own." 

Marriage is allowed in some branches of the church. In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI introduced a policy allowed the English Catholic church to accept married former Anglican priests.