[CynicalBear]

Oh nice try! But alas it falls tragically short of proving the Catholic position of assigning “priesthood” to the New Testament church leadership. What you have just pointed to is the prophecy of what would be in the New Testament church. Not for the leadership in the church but for all believers. I surely hope there wasn’t a feeling of gotcha in that post because it flopped in dramatic fashion. In fact it only served to justify the position that all believers are a “royal priesthood” and no where in the New Testament are any of the “elders” referred to as priests.

[Cronos]

it's drivel if you can't argue with facts, eh?

Cynical bear: Trying to carry over the Old Testament meaning of priest

The Bible: Exodus 19:6 and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

and 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God

Sorry, the Bible contradicts what you are saying

The Church holds that, just as with the ancient Israelites, we are all a "nation of priests" and just as the ancient Israelites had ministerial priests set aside (Levites), so too do we have in the Church

The same structure -- with the difference that the High Priest is eternal Jesus Christ who is present at each Eucharist, each Mass

the Israelites abdicated their role as a “nation of priests” with their little foray into gold-calf making. -- sorry, that doesn't hold as we read in Exodus 16 how Aaron and Moses preach to the Israelites

Even in Exodus 19 with the pronouncement of you[a] will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ -- these come from God through Moses and in Exodus 19:22 you read And let the priests also, which come near to the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them.

This was before Moses went up into Mt. Sinai

during the Eucharist, Christ IS present as the High Priest

Christ is the High Priest and we are all His priestly nation -- whether lay priests or ministerial priests

The High Priest, Jesus Christ is the High Priest and the one-time Sacrifice -- note, this is a participation in the One-Time sacrifice which as seen in the words of the Apocalypse of St. John of Patmos, as seen in Heaven is the Lamb standing proudly with the blood of Christ in the Eucharist

So, just as in the OT the Israelites/we are all a nation of priest yet they/we had a ministerial priesthood, who, while part of the priesthood had additional, ministerial duties

And this is apparent in the roles of the elders (Presbuteros), bishops etc. in the New Testament -- NOTE: the English term "priest" is simply a contraction of the Greek word presbuteros (presbyster/elder) -- these have the responsibility of teaching, governing, and providing the sacraments in a given congregation (1 Tim. 5:17; Jas. 5:14–15).