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To: netmilsmom; thefrankbaum; Tax-chick; GregB; saradippity; Berlin_Freeper; Litany; SumProVita; ...
For the benefit of non-catholic visitors who have a problem with the catholic use of the word "Father" to address a priest:

Catholics know that as members of a parish, they have been committed to a priest’s spiritual care, thus they have great filial affection for priests and call them "father." Priests, in turn, follow the apostles’ biblical example by referring to members of their flock as "my son" or "my child" (cf. Gal. 4:19; 1 Tim. 1:18; 2 Tim. 2:1; Philem. 10; 1 Pet. 5:13; 1 John 2:1; 3 John 4).

All of these passages were written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and they express the infallibly recorded truth that Christ’s ministers do have a role as spiritual fathers. Jesus is not against acknowledging that. It is he who gave these men their role as spiritual fathers, and it is his Holy Spirit who recorded this role for us in the pages of Scripture. To acknowledge spiritual fatherhood is to acknowledge the truth, and no amount of anti-Catholic grumbling will change that fact.

Call No Man "Father"?

2 posted on 06/25/2013 2:26:17 PM PDT by NYer ( "Run from places of sin as from the plague."--St John Climacus)
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To: NYer

I never had a problem with that statement. What the Bible is saying “Call no man Father of Creation” has nothing to do with calling a priest father. As was explained to me and also by the Apostles calling members of their flock “my son” or “my child” .... makes sense to me.


26 posted on 06/25/2013 3:31:15 PM PDT by SkyDancer (Live your life in such a way that the Westboro church will want to picket your funeral.)
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