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Tim,
No, the Apostles were not all married. The only Apostle we have inspired proof of being married is St. Peter, owing to Matthew 8:14's reference to his mother-in-law. Tradition, if I recall correctly, tells us that all the Apostles, except St. John, were married. (St. Jerome identifies St. John as a virgin in his treatise Against Jovinianus, I. 26. Eusebius says Peter and Philip had children, see History III. XXX. Tertullian (Monogamy 8, 4), however, says that only Peter was married.)
I'll be perfectly honest: This is a very ignorant and irrational reason to leave the faith. It makes the erroneous assumption that the Catholic faith stands or falls on the practice of priestly celibacy. This is extraordinarily silly. Anyone who is well informed knows several things:
- One, priestly celibacy is a discipline, not a doctrine or teaching. As such, it can (and is) changed. My pastor, for example, is married.
- Two, that universal priestly celibacy was not introduced until the 12th century — (First and Second Lateran Councils).
- Three, that priestly celibacy and priestly continence are distinct concepts. You can prove the Apostles were married, but you can't prove they exercised their marital rights and that proscription is the focus of the book The Apostolic Origins of Priestly Celibacy by Christian Cochini (See, for example, Tertullian, On Exhortation to Chastity, Chapter VIII).
- Four, that married clergy is the norm in many Eastern Catholic churches (e.g., in Ukraine).
No one who knows anything about Catholicism would be the least bit scandalized, shocked, or surprised by the assertion that St. Peter (or any) of the Apostle were married.
Eric
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