Source: https://catholicexchange.com/10-reasons-for-priestly-celibacy (24 June 2020)
The truth is a married priesthood is Scriptural and in the Apostolic Tradition of the Roman Catholic Church until the 10th century when celibacy was made compulsory. Please read and learn some of the history of clerical marriage which was optional from Apostolic times. There were several married popes who fathered children and grandchildren who later became priests, bishops and popes!
This history taken from Wikipedia is only partial.
Marriage and Celibacy in the Catholic Church
From the exhaustive research of
Clerical celibacy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
George T. Dennis SJ of Catholic University of America
Peter Fink SJ
Protestant historian Philip Schaff
Celibacy was voluntary, not imposed, in the early apostolic church:
Mt 19,12 Jesus….”some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever can accept this ought to accept it.”
Some of the apostles were married as St. Peter, Simeon:
Mk 1, 30 and Lk 4,38 Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law of fever
Phillip, one of the first seven deacons ordained in Jerusalem, had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy. Acts 21, 8-9.
St. Paul’s letters indicate bishops, presbyters, deacons were married with children:
St. Paul implies the apostles and brothers of the Lord were married and he was free to marry and have a wife (gunaika) with him on his journeys just as they did.
1 Cor 9.5 Do we not have the right to take along a sister (adelphe), a wife (gunaika), as do the rest of the apostles, and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas (St. Peter)?
I Tim 3.1-2-4 Presiding elder (episcopos, ordained by imposition of hands, power from God) “must not be married more than once…having children….manage his own family. The literal Koine Greek of the New Testament reads, “the bishop (episkopon )….to be a husband of one wife (gunaikos)…”
Ti 1, 5-6 “….appoint presbyters (elders=priests=episcopoi) in every town on condition that a man be blameless, married only once….with believing children…” The literal Koine Greek of the New Testament is “ …the elders…(presbuterous) to be a husband of one wife (gunaikos)…”
In the third century, there is simply no clear evidence of a general tradition or practice, much less of an obligation, of priestly celibacy-continence before the beginning of the third century. There is no clear evidence that celibacy had apostolic origins. During the first three or four centuries no law was promulgated prohibiting clerical marriage. Celibacy was a matter of choice for bishops, priests and deacons. As Paul’s letters indicate, there was no obligation to celibacy after marriage, since they had children.
Third century records a number of third century married bishops in good standing and c414, clerical marriage was in vogue. Only after the third century bishops, priests, deacons were not to have intercourse ONLY before partaking of the Eucharist.
St. Hilary of Poitiers 315-68, Doctor of the Church, was a married bishop and had a daughter named Apra.
Popes of the fourth, fifth, sixth centuries:
--Father of Pope Damasus I 366-84 was a bishop.
--Pope Felix III 483-92 whose father was almost certainly a priest, was the great-great grandfather of Pope Gregory I the Great 590-604.
--Pope Hormisdas 514-23 was the father of Pope Silverius 536-37
Except for periods before celebrating the Divine Liturgy, conjugal relations, by priests and deacons married before ordination, were allowed. Celibacy and perpetual continence was mandated only for bishops.
In the tenth century, most priests were married, lived with their wives and raised families and ordination was not an impediment to marriage. Therefore, some priests did marry after ordination and most rural priests were married and many priests and bishops had wives and children.
It was at the Lateran Council (1123), Canon 3 forbid the clergy to live with women other than family relations. Canon 21 absolutely forbid marriage after ordination.
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