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Hi Robert,
The Greek word Paul uses is Gune. It means woman. It's
where we get the word gynecology. Where as the Greek word for sister is Adelphe.
Jesus uses the same Greek word Gune to mean wife in Matthew 5
31 Furthermore it has been said: "Whoever divorces his
wife (Gune), let him give her a certificate of divorce."
Matthew 5:31
However, in this instance, the immediate context makes the meaning clear.
5 Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do
also the other Apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?
1 Corinthians 9:5
Cephas (the Apostle Peter) was a married man so Paul absolutely means
to say wife.
These types of discussions inevitably leads to the questions regarding
the discipline of priestly celibacy.
The key word here is discipline. Celibacy is a practical and pastoral
discipline authoritatively imposed by Rome on the Latin clergy. It is not
a matter of faith and morals.
Christ indeed called married men to the priesthood. Still today, there
are married priests in the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church. Moreover,
there are some exceptions in the Latin Rite as well.
It is also important to point out, that in both the East and the West,
priests (and deacons) have never been allowed to marry once they were ordained.
- So if you are married first, ordination is possible, but
- if you are
single when you ordained, you can never marry.
Also, should the wife of the married priest die, he is
not allowed to marry again.
I hope this helps.
Under His Mercy
John
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