As a protestant, I'm not convinced that passage has anything to do with the Roman Catholic Church. And as far as Infallible Traditions of the Roman Catholic Church, Peter was married so why can't the pope? I liked John Paul II but I'm fearful for what's coming up ahead.
Peter married? It does not say anything about being married. The bible does say "His mother in-law," He could have been a widower?
I did realize that I did not answer your question. Priests are called to sacrifice all that they have in order to serve the Kingdom of God. Peter did immediately leave his boat to follow Jesus. I suppose if he had had pre-adolescent children, maybe he would not have followed Christ in the way he did; there are no suggestions that Peter had tykes in tow. Paul and Christ both state the superiority of giving up everything, including relations with women, for the sake of the Church.
In the PRUDENCE of the TEMPORAL powers of the Church (IOW, in their managerial discretion, as opposed to their interpretation of doctrine), it is better that a man who is able to sacrifice his entire life for the Church be the man selected to lead a parish. A wife and kids become conflicting interests: A man cannot serve two masters, yet the Holy Spirit taught through Paul that a man should be willing to sacrifice his very life for his wife. There is no conflict if God's will for him is that he lead a family. There is a conflict if God's will for him is that he lead a parish: Who shall his loyalty be towards? What Christian woman should marry a man who cannot love her with all his heart, soul and body, because his heart, soul and body are pledged to his congregation?
The Church may indeed change its mind on this matter. The pedophilia scandal suggests a danger to celibacy. For now, it is the apparent opinion of Rome that the germ of the abuse is the disobedient actions of seminaries by which homosexuals were admitted into the priesthood. This conclusion is supported by the fact that the abuse was almost exclusibely homosexual in nature.
Authentic Catholics consider issues such as homosexuality, abortion, euthenasia, women priests, and the like to be beyond discussion. The Catholic doctrine will never change. However, the Catholic discipline of chastity may change someday, or exceptions may be increased. Indeed, in regions controlled by other patriarchs (the Pope is one of many patriarchs; he just has the largest patriarchy), married priests are permitted. And priests who convert are, like Peter, allowed to remain in their ministries in spite of being married.
Will the policy ever change?
It looked likely to for some time after Vatican II, and I suspect many entered seminaries expecting the change. The heterosexual, orthodox members of the era of John Paul II seem quite grateful for the current discipline, so it seems that the Sensuum Fidelis (sense of the Faithful, as opposed to Sense of the People who tell MSM media pollsters they are Catholic) seems to be that celibate priests are a good thing.
Ill tell you this much: I dated a very attractively exuberant woman who was searching for a denomination. I was quite disgusted at having EVERY LAST DARN single minister try to pull alpha-male crap on me because they were horny for my girl.