[fortheDeclaration]

We don't know if St. Paul was "not allowed" to marry. It appears from his letters that he simply chose to be celibate. Like I said, the celibacy discipline was not adopted legally till the 4th century, and many Christian clergy were adult converts already married; such was St. Peter.

And that is exactly what, I believe, we were saying.

That there is no scriptural basis for celibacy among church leadership.

By the way, the NAS Roman Catholic Bible, has Do we not have the right to take along a Christian wife, as do the rest of the Apostles and the brothers of of the Lord and Kephas?(1Cor.9:3)

Like I always say, you can't trust those modern translations!

[annalex]

there is no scriptural basis for celibacy among church leadership

I'd agree that there is not enough in the scripture to definitely say that only the celibate may be ordained priests, but married men can be ordained deacons; this is why the priestly celibacy discipline in the Latin West is not a dogma of the Church. There is enough in the scripture to say that married priests may not remarry, this is why it is taught universally east and West. There is enough the scripture to say that celibacy is advisable for men and women of God, this is why the Church East and West has monks and nuns and mandates celibacy for her bishops.