Why do Catholics call Priests 'Father'?
This question refers to Jesus' teaching found in the Gospel of St. Matthew, when He said,
"Do not call anyone on earth your father. Only one is your father, the One in heaven" (23:9).
Taken literally, we would have to wonder why we do use the title "Father" when Jesus seems to forbid it. First, we must remember the context of the passage. Jesus is addressing the hypocrisy of the scribes and the Pharisees—the learned religious leaders of Judaism. Our Lord castigates them for not providing good example; for creating onerous spiritual burdens for others with their various rules and regulations; for being haughty in exercising their office and for promoting themselves by looking for places of honor, seeking marks of respect and wearing ostentatious symbols. Basically, the scribes and Pharisees had forgotten that they were called to serve the Lord and those entrusted to their care with humility and generous spirit.
Given that context, Jesus says not to call anyone on earth by the title, "Rabbi," "Father" or "Teacher," in the sense of arrogating to oneself an authority which rests with God and of forgetting the responsibility of the title. Yes, as Jesus said, only the heavenly Father is the true Father, and the Messiah, the true teacher and rabbi.
Nevertheless, we do use these titles in common parlance: We call those who instruct us and others "teacher"; our male parent "father"; and Jewish religious leaders "rabbi." Especially in a religious sense, those who serve the Lord and represent His authority, as a teacher, parent and especially a priest, must be mindful of exercising it diligently, humbly and courageously. To use this authority for self-aggrandizement is pure hypocrisy. Jesus said at the end of this passage, "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, but whoever humbles himself shall be exalted."
Since the earliest times of our Church, we have used the title "Father" for religious leaders.
Bishops, who are the shepherds of the local Church community and the authentic teachers of the faith, were given the title "Father." Actually, until about the year 400, a bishop was called "papa" for Father; this title was then restricted solely to addressing the Bishop of Rome, the successor of St. Peter, and in English was rendered "pope."
In an early form of his rule, St. Benedict (d. c. 547) designated the title to spiritual confessors, since they were the guardians of souls. Moreover, the word "abbot," denoting the leader in faith of the monastic community, is derived from the word abba, the Aramaic Hebrew word for father, but in the very familiar sense of "daddy."
Later, in the Middle Ages, the term "father" was used to address the mendicant friars—like the Franciscans and Dominicans—since by their preaching, teaching and charitable works they cared for the spiritual and physical needs of all of God's children. In more modern times, the heads of male religious communities, or even those who participate in ecumenical councils such as Vatican II, are given the title "father." In the English-speaking world, addressing all priests as "Father" has become customary.
On a more personal note, the title for me is very humbling. As a priest, "Father" reminds me that I am entrusted with a grave responsibility by our Lord—His faithful people. Just as a father must nourish, instruct, challenge, correct, forgive, listen and sustain, the priest must meet the spiritual needs of those entrusted to his care, providing them with the nourishment of our Lord through the sacraments. He must preach the Gospel with fervor and conviction in accord with the mind of the Church, challenging all to continue on that path of conversion which leads to holiness. He must correct those who have erred but with mercy and compassion.
In the same spirit as the father with his prodigal son, the priest must reconcile sinners who have gone astray but seek a way back to God. As a father listens to his child, so must a priest listen to his spiritual children, providing counsel and consolation.
A priest must also be mindful of the "physical" needs of his flock—food, housing, clothing and education. While priests may be celibate, the words of our Lord to His Apostles ring true: "I give you My word, there is not one who has given up home, brothers or sisters, mother or father, children or property for Me and for the Gospel who will not receive in this present age a hundred times as many homes, brothers and sisters, mothers, children and property—and persecution besides—and in the age to come, everlasting life" (Mk 10:29-30).
All of us must pray for our priests, especially those that serve in our own parishes, that by God's grace they may strive to fulfill the responsibility of being "Father."
Fr. William Saunders, president of Notre Dame Institute and pastor of Queen of Apostles Parish, both in Alexandria (Jun.16, 1995)
In Matthew 23:9, Jesus says:
“Call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.”
This passage is often taken out of context, but is wrong to do so. You should not read the Bible and take verses and apply it to whatever you wish. As we
dig deeper into this passage, if we were to read it literally then no one can be called father. This would include our biological father and the “Founding Fathers” of our country. This would also contradict the commandment that we should honor our mother and father. Furthermore, there are also passages where Jesus refers back to the “fathers” of Israel. And, St. Paul in describing his very own church leadership refers to himself as the father to his children in 1 Corinthians 4: 14-15. “I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (1 Cor. 4:14–15). There are other versus as well in the New Testament, in Acts 7:2, Stephen refers to “our father Abraham,” and in Romans 9:10, Paul speaks of “our father Isaac.”
In taking the full context of Matthew 23, you see that Jesus is condemning the scribes and Pharisees for lack of humility for not looking toward God for authority but rather setting themselves up as the ultimate authority. In the chapter, Jesus condemns them for using the titles rabbi (master), abba (father) and moreh (teacher), for their own selfishness and personal gains. A very crude example of this is a man having children so that he can get a tax benefit and treats his children as such. He is taking the role of “father” for his own selfishness and personal gains.
Catholics refer to Priest as “father” as a term of endearment and respect. The priests provides for our spiritual welfare just as a father of a family provides food, shelter and love for his family. Priests, through the Eucharist, provide us with our Spiritual food; through Reconciliation, provide us with forgiveness; through mass and the Bible, they teach us about God and His teachings; they listen and give us advise; and by their vocation, they sacrifice their life in service for us and our families. The Priest is our spiritual Father and we are his spiritual children.
“The world looks to a priest, because it looks to Jesus! No one can see Christ; but everyone sees the priest , and through him they wish to catch a glimpse of the Lord” – Pope John Paul II
“Fathers” Throughout the New Testament
Let's start in an obvious place, the beginning of Matthew's Gospel. The genealogy in Matthew 1 lists a lot of fathers: “Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers…” (Matthew 1:2). Jesus talks about our fathers in Matthew 10:37 and Mark 10:29. Ephesians 6:2 reminds children, “honor your father and mother.” In fact, there are countless men referred to in the New Testament as fathers or father.
Fathers In Faith
When Jesus tells the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, He has the rich man refer to Abraham by the title “Father Abraham” when praying to him (Luke 
16:24; Luke 16:30). There's not a hint anywhere in the passage that he's wrong to call him that, either. James 2:21 likewise calls him “Abraham our father.” That's the exact formulation that seems to be banned by Matthew 23:9. Likewise, there's Acts 4:25, in which the Christians remind God of the words of “our father David Your servant.” Romans 9:10 refers to “our father Isaac.”
But couldn't they just be calling them fathers, and meaning ancestors? Nope. Romans 4:11-18 explicitly tells us that Abraham is our father through faith:
He received circumcision as a sign or seal of the righteousness which he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised and who thus have righteousness reckoned to them, and likewise the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but also follow the example of the faith which our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
The promise to Abraham and his descendants, that they should inherit the world, did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
All Are Welcome. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants - not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, for he is the father of us all, as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations" -- in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations; as he had been told, "So shall your descendants be."
In Matthew 3:9, John the Baptist makes the same point, saying to the Pharisees and Sadducees, “do not presume to say to yourselves, `We have Abraham as our father'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.” In other words, biological descent from Abraham doesn't cut it. It's being his son in faith that matters. And Jesus Himself makes the same point in John 8:39, telling the Pharisees, “If you were Abraham’s children, then you would do what Abraham did.” So clearly Abraham is called father (at least by Christians) because he's our spiritual father, rather than our biological ancestor.
We see this in plenty of other places. St. Stephen, for example, uses it for the elders of the Jewish Council, beginning his speech, “Hear me, brethren and fathers!” (Acts 7:2). Obviously, he's not claiming that the high priest and the elders he's speaking to are his physical ancestors: he's referring them as fathers in the same way we refer to priests as fathers today.
St. Paul even refers to himself as a spiritual father, saying, “in Christ Jesus I became your father through the Gospel” (1 Cor. 4:15). And St. Peter refers to Mark as his (spiritual) son in 1 Peter 5:13 -- with the implication that Peter is his father in faith. So basically everyone in the New Testament uses father as a spiritual title. The Protestant formulation (that it's okay to call men father, but only if they're a biological ancestor) is clearly wrong.
Paul regularly referred to Timothy as his child: "Therefore I sent to you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ" (1 Cor. 4:17); "To Timothy, my true child in the faith: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord" (1 Tim. 1:2); "To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord" (2 Tim. 1:2).
Joe Heschmeyer (Nov.22, 2011)
Source: ewtn.com
