Expert: Fr. Timothy Johnson - 12/30/2008

Question
Yes my question is this: Matthew 23:9 states "And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven." So why are Catholic priests then referred to as father?


Answer
Hi, Matt:
Thanks for the question and Merry Christmas!

This very question you ask crossed my mind today at the celebration of Mass because one of our readings proclaimed was from Chapter 2 of the First Letter of John from the New Testament.  In it, the Apostle writes to those whom he calls "fathers", "little children", and even "young men."  I gather from the context that the Apostle is making some kind of distinction among different degrees within the spiritual life in the audience to which he writes, some whom he calls "father."
This is turn made me think of Jesus' reference to Lazarus in the 16th Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, in which the rich man cries out several times to "Father Abraham."  And then there is St. Paul who writes of himself being a spiritual father to those who have accepted the Faith he preached, bringing them forth in Christ...
So, at a certain level, it becomes obvious that Christ in Matthew 23 was not so much giving an absolute prohibition of calling any man father, at all... Rather, He must be teaching his listeners that all fatherhood, and all knowledge and teaching (for he prohibits also calling any man rabbi or teacher) comes ultimately from God as its source.  If in some way one is teaching error, or not being a proper spiritual father when, in fact, he ought to be; then giving him the title and his accepting it is something of disrespect to God from Whom the Office derives ultimately.
On a more particular note, here is a little explanation of some of the history of the current usage of the address "Father" for Parish Priests of the Roman Catholic Church that I am copying and pasting from a letter of correspondence I have on file:
"The use of the term “Father” as a title of address for Parish Clergy in English speaking countries is a relatively new custom in the Catholic Church, only going back to the early to mid 1800s.  Before that time, a Parish Priest would customarily be addressed, either according to title of nobility (Count, Duke, etc.), or by Sir or Mister.  The address “Father” for “Religious” Clergy (meaning those in Monastic Religious Orders) goes back many, many more centuries.  In the monastery, there were the “Brothers” and the “Fathers.”  The “Fathers” almost more often than not were Monks who had also received the Sacrament of Holy Orders (therefore, they were Priests), and they were more often than not in positions of authority over the other Monks in the monastery; hence, they were addressed as “Father.”  This custom at some point in the 1800s in English speaking countries, spilled over into the ranks of “Secular” (Parish Priest) Clergy, and the form of address “stuck.”  It is a great thing to think of a Priest as “Father” caring for God’s Children."
Thanks, again, and Merry Christmas to you!

Fr. Timothy Johnson