Rome: The Catholic Church should consider allowing married men to become priests, Pope Francis has said, in what would be a radical departure from Vatican teaching.

The lifting of the ban on married men being ordained would apply only in specific circumstances, for instance in remote areas of the world where priests are in short supply, the Pope said. But it would effectively reverse the centuries-old principle that Roman Catholic priests must be celibate.

In an interview with the German Die Zeit newspaper, the pontiff said he was open to the idea of so-called viri probati – married men of deep faith who are already involved in the Church – being allowed to become priests.

"We must consider if viri probati is a possibility. Then we must determine what tasks they can perform, for example, in remote communities," he said.