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Not misinterpreting scripture and the cc is fallible! With Matthew 23:9, I am saying that I believe that Jesus meant that you are not to call any man on earth Father(upper case used to emphasize that God is Father, not father) Of course I had anearthly father, but God and only God is my Holy Father, not the pope or any other catholic priest! This is the respect that God deserves!
âFatherâ is a title now given to all priests in English speaking countries. Since a priest is the ordinary minister of the Sacrament of Baptism, by which Christians are reborn to the supernatural life of grace, he can appropriately be called a spiritual father.
Many seem to think that Catholics, in calling their priests âfatherâ, are violating the injunction of Christ: âAs for you, do not be called âRabbi,âYou have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called âMasterâ; you have but one master, the Messiahâ. (Matt. 23:8-10). However, from the context it is clear that this is not an absolute prohibition of the titles of Rabbi, Master, Teacher, or Father (all of which are put on the same level), but is a criticism of the Pharisees, who sought these titles from a motive of pride. Even Saint Paul did not hesitate to call himself the spiritual father of his converts (1 Cor. 4:15) and spoke of Timothy and Titus as his sons. According to Eph. 3:15, all fatherhood takes its name from the universal fatherhood of God.â
Above is taken from a Catholic Encyclopedia. According to âThe Jerome Biblical Commentary,â the use of the title âfatherâ began in monasteries as a form of address to the abbot as father of the monastic family. It was then extended to other monks who served as spiritual directors, and later generally applied to the clergy. There is no date given, but since the Rule of Benedict (circa 525) already speaks of the paternal role as typical, the use of âfatherâ probably began in the fifth century, if not earlier.
Additional comments taken from âCatholic Repliesâ:
âIf we consider the context of our Lordâs remarks, we see that He was denouncing the Pharisees for requiring people to perform hard tasks while avoiding such works themselves. Instead of helping people lighten their burdens, said Jesus, the Pharisees were âfond of places of honor at banquets and the front seats in synagogues, of marks of respect in public and of being called âRabbiââ. These titles were sought after since they would then be able to âlightenâ their work load, so to speak. This, some believe is the reason our Lord denounced them. Remember, He was only addressing the Pharisees at this time.
âAs to you,â Jesus told the crowds and His disciples, âavoid the title âRabbi.â. One among you is your teacher, the rest are learners. Do not call anyone on earth your father. Only one is your father, the One in heaven. Avoid being called teachers. Only one is your teacher, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be the one who serves the rest.â
Notice that Jesus also referred to âteachersâ. Isnât it strange that when some Protestants condemn us for calling our priests âfatherâ, they only quote that portion of scripture that refers to âfatherâ. They donât add that Jesus also said, avoid being called âteachersâ. I wonder why? I guess thatâs because they called their school instructors âteachersâ but never called their ministers âfatherâ. They donât want to condemn themselves for using the word âteachersâ.