Vatican stands by celibacy ruling

The Vatican has backed the tradition of celibacy for Catholic priests after a meeting between the Pope and advisers.

The Pope and his cardinals discussed the case of a married African archbishop, excommunicated last year for ordaining other married priests.

"The value of the choice of priestly celibacy... has been reaffirmed," the Vatican said in a statement.

Thousands of the Catholic Church's 400,000 priests worldwide have left in order to marry in recent years. the rest