"According to Paul, church leaders must be married. See 1 Tim 3."
Well, that's the interpretation of some Christians. Other Christians (not Catholics) interpret this to mean that church leaders may not be married more than once. Yet others interpret it as a ban on being married to more than one person at a time. I even ran into a sect that explained how this verse supported optional polygamy (only church leaders must be the husband of no more than one wife - everyone else is free to load up on extras).
So, it seems that faithful, well-meaning people, all trying to follow Jesus Christ, have interpreted this verse in widely diverging ways.
I'm sure that this is what Jesus meant when He prayed that all might be one. That there would be thousands upon thousands of variations of interpretations of the Truth. And that there would be no visible guide to distinguish truth from error. Uh huh.
Well, we Catholics have our own understanding of doctrine, faith, Scripture, and authority. The Catholic interpretation differs from yours. It is a logically reasonable interpretation, and actually fits better with other Scriptures (at least in our view) than does yours. Paul certainly endorses celibacy elsewhere. Jesus states that there will be some that embrace this state for the sake of the Kingdom. A logically coherent reading of these verses would seem to contradict your assertion.
By what authority do you assert that your interpretation (which fits other Scripture less-well) is the correct one?
The peace of Christ be with you,
sitetest
Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife,
Note it says "must be the husband of one wife". Note it does not equivocate. It says "must be" the husband of one wife. That means married and only once. It doesn't say "if married, must be the husband of one wife". It doesn't allow for much spin.