Pope Francis May Change Priest Celibacy Rule After Admitting Infatuation With Young Woman During Seminary School

A Pope Francis interview from last year, might give Roman Catholic Priests a chance to break from lifelong abstinence.

In the interview for a book, Francis said that the rule on celibacy “can change” according to NBCNews.com. He also admitted he'd been smitten by a young lady while at seminary school.

Francis pointed to other leaders of faith in Eastern churches. Even though they are married he believes they are “good priests.”

According to NBC, Father Thomas Reese, who was taken aback by the Pope’s statement.

“The last few popes have been pretty clear they were not open to changing it or having a discussion about it," he said.

The Pope, formerly known as Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, was interviewed for a book “On the Heavens and the Earth.” It was written in Spanish and translated into English by Aletia, a catholic news site.

According to Aletia.org, Bergoglio described his first encounter with the girl that he admitted to being tempted by.

“When I was a seminarian, I was dazzled by a girl I met at an uncle's wedding," he said. "I was surprised by her beauty, her intellectual brilliance... and, well, I was bowled over for quite a while. I kept thinking and thinking about her.

“When I returned to the seminary after the wedding, I could not pray for over a week because when I tried to do so, the girl appeared in my head,” he said.

Pope Francis explained he was able to overcome temptation, but is compassionate to anyone in his situation that might not have been able to do what he did.

"When something like this happens to a seminarian, I help him go in peace to be a good Christian and not a bad priest," he said.

Despite speculation over a possible change to the celibacy rule, the Pope is adamant "the discipline of celibacy stands firm”.