Short Answers: Married Priests and the Priesthood of All Christians

Two questions on the Catholic priesthood today:



Dear Apologist, someone told me the Bible says priests should have a wife.  Is that true?

He was referring to Paul’s first letter to Timothy, in which Paul instructs Timothy on the qualities he should look for when ordaining men to ministry.  He writes: “A bishop must be irreproachable, the husband of one wife, […]. He must manage his own household well, keeping his children under control with dignity; if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of the church?” [Tim 3:2-5]

What does this tell us?  One thing this shows is they did ordain married men in the earliest days of the Church.  This is not a secret.  Celibacy was practiced by many, but was not a discipline at that time.  The real question is whether this passage means a bishop or priest MUST be married.  There are two ways you could interpret it.  When Paul says a candidate must be “the husband of one wife”, he could be proposing this as a minimum or a maximum.  That is to say, he could be barring unmarried men from ministry – or saying you cannot have polygamists in ministry.  So which is it?

One clue is in 1 Corinthians 7:8.  Paul writes, “Now to the unmarried and to widows, I say it is a good thing for them to remain as they are, as I am.”  Here Paul reveals that he is himself not married.  He then goes on to recommend the celibate state for those seeking to devote themselves entirely to the work of God.  Thus if Paul meant unmarried men could not be pastors, he would have been barring himself from ministry. Obviously that cannot be the case, so the passage should be read as a maximum.



Dear Apologist, I was told there is no need for the Catholic priesthood because the Bible says we are all priests.  How do I respond?

He was referring to 1Peter 2:9.  Speaking of the whole Church, Peter says, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own...” The assertion is since the Bible says we are all priests, there is no place for the Catholic priesthood.   There is only the “priesthood of all believers”.

The Catholic Church does in fact recognize the priestly nature of all Christians.  But what your friend does not realize is that Peter was referring back to Exodus 19:5-6, which describes the Hebrew people in the exact same words.  Israel was also nation of priests, yet there still existed three classes of priesthood.  There was the common priesthood of all Israelites, the ministerial priesthood of the tribe of Levi, and the high priest.  In the same fashion, the Church - which is described as the “Israel of God” [Gal 6:16] – also features these three levels of priesthood.  There is the priesthood of all Christians, the high priesthood of Jesus, and the ministerial priesthood of the Apostles which was passed on through Holy Orders.  

One may object that the Bible never describes the Apostles as priests.  However, we can see within their ministry all the elements of a ministerial priesthood.  Did Jesus ordain them for the offering of a sacrifice?  Yes, at the Last Supper.  Did he empower them to forgive sins? Yes, after the Resurrection.  Did he authorize them to lead, teach, and govern the people of God?  Yes, at the Ascension.  All the elements of a ministerial priesthood are there … so why not call it what it is?  For more, see paragraphs 1546-1547 in the Catechism.