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Dear Vince,
Thanks for the question.
There are many great articles on this subject, and I'll link one below.
The short answer is that yes, most of the Apostles were married before their ministry, but they did not become married after Christ ordained them to fulfill His Ministry. That practice is essentially still carried out by those rites of the Eastern Churches that hold that tradition (if their spouse dies, they cannot remarry).
For Roman Catholics, Priestly celibacy is a discipline, not a doctrine, and it is chosen as the best way to act as a man commissioned to carry out Christ’s priestly Ministry — because Christ Himself was bridegroom to the whole Church and priests represent that. You will sometimes see a priest from another denomination, like Anglican, that becomes Catholic and is already married; he thereby becomes a “married priest” if he so chooses to continue as a priest.
Others, like Dr. Taylor Marshall (former Anglican priest), decided to not continue the priestly ministry and simply become a lay person. Every case may have different circumstances, but the fundamental principles remain the same: in priesthood where marriage is allowed, marriage must precede ordination.
See the article below for much more.
Peace,
Bob Kirby
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