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I just finished reading Corinthians 7:1-7. Paul has NO issues with marriage.

Good grief! Were you assuming that I thought he *did*? Again: we don't have to tear down marriage in order to build up celibacy, any more than we have to tear down Mary and the Saints in order to build up Jesus!

Most Biblical scholars believe Paul was married at one time and now is either widowed or divorced (perhaps his wife did not share in his conversion).

With all due respect: I've heard enough "theories from [usually modernist] theologians" to last me 100 lifetimes (including "theologians" who speculate that Jesus was married ["the Bible doesn't say that He wasn't, does it?", as they say]! That's simply empty speculation with no substantial data, and it flies in the face of 2000 years of Catholic patrimony.

Beyond that: it's utterly plain that St. Paul is holding up celibacy as the PREFERRED state for the man or woman of God (especially in the ministry); no one can read 1 Cor 7 reasonably and conclude anything else. No, he doesn't say that it's a general mandate (he explicitly denies that it's a general mandate, several times); he says that, if someone is incapable of living up to this standard should marry, rather than sin through lust (cf, Jesus' own words: "He who is able to receive this, let him receive it." -Matthew 19:12)

Re: all the other points: we either believe (as the Catholic Church teaches) that the Scriptures are inerrant, or we do not. We are not free to assume that the teachings of St. Paul are so tainted with self-interest that St. Paul is encouraging celibacy only on the basis of his own waning libido (i.e. "I'm not eager for sex, so no one else should be concerned with it, I guess!")! The Holy Spirit included those words in Sacred Scripture for a reason, despite what modernist theologians might speculate and invent.

If you read Paul carefully in all of these passages, yes you hear him saying he has chosen to remain chaste for the remainder of his life. He says this is best for him at this stage in his life. He is in his sixties when he wrote most of his letters which was quite old for that time in history-—considering life expectancy at that time was about 40. No one in their right mind would insist a young 20 or 30 year old would refrain from marriage in order to the join the priesthood. Paul is simply saying that is saying that he is very old and being single is best for him at this point in his life. He has no issues with the married state. You are reading into the Bible rather than reading it the way it is written. Paul never insists that anyone adopt celibacy unless they choose to. Because of his advanced age, it is no surprise that he prefers that for himself.

An interesting aside. I have noticed in my own archdiocese that the age of seminarians entering into the priesthood is significantly older than it was a number of years ago. For those interested in keeping the celibacy requirement, this could be seen as a positive trend. At least many if not most of the new recruits are older men, presumably sexually mature, most have been around the block a few times, are subject to a full battery of psychological examinations, and know full well what is expected of them.