Pope Francis meets young men who have left priesthood

Pope Francis on Friday met a group of young men who have left the priesthood, "to show his closeness and affection towards them."

His surprise visit to an apartment in Ponte di Nona a neighbourhood on the outskirts of Rome to meet with the group, made up of five Italians, a Spaniard and a man from Latin America, came as part of his traditional gestures of Mercy on one Friday a month during this Jubilee Year. During his visit the Pope played with the former priests' children.

A Vatican statement said the young men took the difficult decision to leave the priesthood despite opposition, in many cases, from their fellow priests or their families, often after serving for several years in parishes where loneliness, misunderstanding or fatigue arising from their many responsibilities prompted them to rethink their choice.

It said the men spent months and years wrestling with uncertainty and doubts before coming to the decision they had made a mistake by becoming priests and therefore decided to leave, in order to marry and start families.

Source: Vatican Press Office