Matthew 23:9-10
Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.
So we Catholics go against God’s will when we call priests and bishops “father”?
According to the above alone, when we Catholics call priests and bishops “father”, we do the opposite of what Christ commanded. It even seems that Christ abolished the commandment that says to honor parents (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16) by prohibiting the use of the appellative father. Yet, reading the New Testament, it seems that the disciples did not put this prohibition into practice. In fact, in his letters Paul writes: “Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.” (1 Corinthians 4:15) “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.” (Galatians 4:19) “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers.” (Ephesians 4:11) Paul considers himself the “father” of those Christian communities, in a spiritual sense, and even says that Christ himself established some as pastors and teachers. It’s still: “And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.” (Romans 4:12) “Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac.” (Romans 9:10) Here Paul mentions the two patriarchs Abraham and Isaac always using the appellative father. Let us see what John writes: “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” (1 John 2:1) Even John like Paul considers himself “father” in the spiritual sense of the Christian communities to which his letter is addressed. In Luke’s writings we read: “To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran.” (Acts 7:2) Stephen, inspired by the Spirit of God (Acts 6:10), called his compatriots “brothers” and “fathers”. In his letter James writes: “Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?” (James 2:21) While the author of the letter to the Hebrews: “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!” (Hebrews 5:12) Returning to the account of Matthew 23, if we read the entire chapter we understand how Jesus was giving a lesson to the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees. Those scribes and Pharisees did not generate divine life in the hearts of believers (Matthew 23:13-15), but instead tied heavy burdens and placed them on the shoulders of the people, but they did not even want to move them with a finger, and all their works they do to be admired by men (Matthew 23:4-5). They loved the places of honor in the banquets, the first seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the squares, as well as being called “rabbi” by the people (Matthew 23:7), and they transgressed justice, mercy and fidelity (Matthew 23:23). On the contrary, priests generate divine life in the hearts of believers, through the word of God and the sacraments instituted by Christ. Therefore, calling men on earth “father” or “teacher” is not at all contrary to the Word of God. Christ, just as Christ did not abolish the commandment that says to honor parents, neither did He forbid the use of the title father towards priests and bishops.
Cristiani Cattolici Romani 