JUST AS NOW [when ordination of married men is permitted in some oriental rites], some of the apostles like St. Paul and St. John, practiced celibacy; others, like St. Peter (Mk1:29-31) and some of the others (1 Cor 9:5), were married.

Some, like St. Paul, preferred and recommended celibacy (1 Cor 7:7– 8, 26). Jesus spoke about celibacy in Mt 19:11, where he says it’s reserved to those who do not marry for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.

As Jesus says, “Not all can accept this word, but only those to whom that is granted” (Mat 19:11). The passage in 1 Tim 3:2 does not state that the Bishop must be married; rather that he had “married only once”, “married to only one wife,” that is, that he had not practiced polygamy.

Jorge Luis Zarazúa, Diez extendidas dudas (resueltas), Translated from the Spanish original, appearing in es.aleteia.org, January 9, 2019. With permission.