Berlin, Germany - In an open letter, 144 German-speaking Catholic theologians called Friday on the Vatican to allow priests to marry.
About one-third of the scholars teaching theology at Catholic seminaries and public universities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland signed the appeal for change in the church, which has a rule requiring priests to be celibate.
They also called for the church to allow women to be ordained as priests too. The open letter said the church was running short of priests because of the current doctrinal restriction. They also called for more lay participation in electing Catholic bishops.
Referring to the scandal of the past year in Germany over clergy sex abuse of children, the group said, "A lull must not follow the storm."
One signatory, Gerhard Kruip of Mainz University, told the German Press Agency dpa the Catholic church must also allow more freedom of conscience on sexual ethics. He said it was wrong to reject homosexuals who lived together in a responsible, loving way.