But the Bible says that running a family is a requirement for being a priest.

Mark asks:

Dear Mark,

Fortunately, they are not my ideas, meaning that I did not come up with them. But you probably mean by 'your ideas' those of the Catholic Church.

Like most of the ideas of the Catholic Church, this one has its roots in Scripture, the example of Christ, and was then matured and developed under the action of the Holy Spirit in the living Tradition of the Catholic Church.

It is a fact that many of the first priests, presbyters, of the Church may have been married, and some of them definitely were. You are probably referring to Titus 1, 5-6 in which Paul says that he left Titus in Crete to appoint 'presbyters in every town... on condition that a man be blameless, married only once, with believing children' who basically were not a cause of scandal.

Now, if you had to be married in order to be a priest, then Paul himself could not have become one. We know he was not married because when he gave advice to the Corinthians about marriage he said that he wished all could be like himself, free of marriage to dedicate themselves wholly to the Lord, but if they did marry it would not be a wrong thing to do. So running a family is not a requirement for becoming a priest. All Paul says is that for a married man to be ordained he cannot have been married more than once, and must have brought up his family well.

You have, however, opened an interesting question. Is it not a big jump to go from where Paul is to where the Catholic Church (Latin Rite) now stands, saying that only unmarried men can be ordained, and they may not marry afterwards? What justifies such a jump?

A priest is another Christ, and he works 'in the person of Christ'. Christ's example is paramount for a priest, and the pattern for his life. Christ did not marry. Christ spoke about giving up father, mother, wife... for the Kingdom. He said that some are incapable of marriage relationships either by nature or by mutilation, but others have voluntarily given them up for the sake of the kingdom. The apostle John was not married. As we saw, Paul was not married either.

From the very beginning of Christianity there were many who gave themselves voluntarily to God as virgins, and lived their call faithfully. What the Church realized was that celibacy went so well with the priesthood (it was what Christ chose for himself, it shows you really believe in heaven, it leaves you free to give yourself totally to your people, among other reasons) that it decided in the Latin Church that God did not give the charism of the priesthood without granting the charism of celibacy as well. So nowadays if you cannot live celibacy it means you are not being called to the priesthood.

Sound impossible? Christ told Peter it was impossible for men, but possible with God's help. God bless.