WHY DO CATHOLICS CALL PRIESTS "FATHER" SINCE JESUS SAYS CALL NO MAN YOUR FATHER ON EARTH

Why do Catholics call priests “father,” since Jesus says “call no man your father on earth” (Mt. 23:9
Response: In Matthew 23:9, Jesus emphasizes the primary role of our Heavenly Father. He created us in His image and likeness (Gen. 1:26-28). He made us His children
through baptism in the death and resurrection of His Son (Rom. 5:12-21; 6:3-4; 8:12-17). Because God created us in His image and likeness, we share in the attributes of God. Insofar as men share in the attributes of the Father, they participate in the one fatherhood of God.
Discussion: In Matthew 23:9 Jesus says, “And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.” Many people interpret this to mean, “Do not call a priest “father,” and do not call your dad “father.” Some who hold this opinion go further and believe that calling a priest “father” is a sin because it directly violates a command from Jesus. Many Protestants make this a common objection against Catholicism.
If we believe these opinions, then what are we to make of the Scriptures that contradict this one? For example, in Mark 7:9-13, Jesus criticizes the Pharisees and scribes for not honoring their “fathers.” Furthermore, calling the apostles and their successors “father” was common within the early Christian communities (1 Cor. 4:15, 1 Jn. 2:12, Acts 7:2, 22:1). As in the case of all scriptural interpretations, we must understand this passage in light of the rest of Scripture (cf. 2 Pet. 1:20; 3:16). This interpretative principle is called the “analogy of faith” [Catechism of the Catholic Church (Catechism), no. 114].
Honor thy father
In Deuteronomy 5:16, God commands, “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you; that your days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with you, in the land which the Lord your God gives you.” God made this command after telling us to honor Him. With this in mind, it seems reasonable to conclude that God Himself considers others to be “fathers.” Jesus upholds this commandment in Mark 7:9-13. In that passage, He berates the scribes and Pharisees who used traditions to rationalize not providing assistance to their fathers. It is clear that He means someone other than God.
A father is one who begets children. Biologically, to beget means to give the seed from which a child is conceived. A man begets and a woman conceives. In this act of begetting, the man shares in the attributes of God’s fatherhood by actively contributing the seed for life. In turn, God is the author of life who actively creates a soul and infuses it into the child at the moment of conception. In this strictly physical sense, it is easy to determine the act of begetting, and who begets who.
It is important to remember that a child does not choose its biological father. The father chooses to give the child life. Just as God gives life to all men, and so deserves our honor and reverence, so a child owes its life to its father, and the father deserves honor from the child.
There is a spiritual sense to fatherhood as well. In John 8, Jesus identifies spiritual fatherhood in terms of who one honors. If we honor the father of lies, the devil is our father; if we honor God, He is our Father (v. 44-49). Thus, Jesus calls the devil a father of some, and He calls God the Father of others. Unlike the biological relationship between a father and his child, spiritual fatherhood is a choice of the “child.” In light of this passage, we can best understand what Jesus meant in Matthew 23:9.
Text and Context
Matthew 23:9 is part of a larger passage in which Jesus comments on the example of the scribes and Pharisees. Matthew devotes the entire chapter (23) to this discourse. While reading the entire chapter is most helpful in understanding this passage, the first 12 verses provided adequate context to begin the discussion.
Then said Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men. But you are no to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ. He who is greatest among you shall be your servant; whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
In the remainder of the chapter, Jesus expresses disgust over the many hypocrisies of the scribes and Pharisees. He ends by giving a lament over Jerusalem for killing the prophets and ignoring the Word of God.
While there are many things that can be gleaned from this passage, we can see that in general, Jesus does four things here: (1) He identifies two authorities; (2) He explains the proper response to authority in general; (3) He condemns acts of pride and selfishness committed by those in authority; (4) In doing all these things, He is preparing the crowd for the New Covenant ratified in His Blood.
Who’s who?
In verse 2, Jesus notes that “the scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat.” By this, He recognizes that they have an obligation to teach the people as Moses taught the people. Because he received the Law from God, and then gave it to the people, Moses was the mediator of the Sinai Covenant. The scribes and Pharisees cannot add to what Moses did, but only teach it. As teachers of this Law, they must be respected. This is the first authority identified, and it is rooted in the Sinai Covenant.
“Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all men that were on the face of the earth” (Num. 12:3). And when Miriam and Aaron spoke in pride saying, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” (Num. 13:2), God punished them (Num. 13:9-16). Unlike Moses, from whom they claim authority, the scribes and Pharisees used their positions for their own profit and self-emulation. And so while Jesus tells the people to follow the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees, He warns them not follow their prideful practices. As God punished Miriam and Aaron for their pride, so Jesus warns the scribes and Pharisees of punishment for theirs. One such act of pride was to be called “teacher,” “father,” and “master.” As in other places of Scripture, Jesus emphasizes here that one who seeks to be a teacher, father, or master must serve the rest. He does this by introducing a second authority, which would be rooted in the New Covenant ratified in His Blood.
In Matthew 23:9-10, Jesus identifies fatherhood with the Father in heaven, and ruling with the authority of the Christ. In a different way, He had already done this in Matthew 10. In that passage, Jesus commissioned His twelve apostles and sent them out in His name. Jesus told them, “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me.” In this way, the apostles knew they acted not on their authority, but on the authority of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Furthermore, those who accepted them were accepting the Christ and His Father in Heaven (see also Mt. 18:5; Mk. 9:37; Lk. 9:48; Jn. 13:20; 12:48; Gal. 4:14). Thus, our “father” is the one whom we choose to honor. In Matthew 23:9, Jesus exhorts us to choose His Father and those who act in His name.