Roman Catholicism developed a governmental structure like that of secular Rome. The pope was at the top, like the emperor. He ruled through pyramid-like ranks of officials: cardinals, archbishops, bishops, presbyters and priests, and deacons. This hierarchy, collectively called the “clergy,” ruled over the church members, called the “laity.”
In the New Testament, all Christians are priests and have priestly functions (1 Peter 2:5, 9; Revelation 1:6). Later church leaders, however, changed this. They made themselves priests, reserving for themselves the right to be administrators, to baptize, to offer the Lord’s Supper (called the eucharist or mass), to perform rites and ceremonies, to take confessions, to forgive sins, and to receive contributions. For many centuries, general members were denied access to the Bible. Only the priest could interpret the Scriptures correctly, based on official traditions.
Roman Catholic priesthood suffered from strange ideas about marriage. Greek philosophy had painted the human body as impure, compared with pure spirit. “Original sin” added a stigma to sexual relations as the way hereditary sin passed from generation to generation. Priests and nuns were supposedly holier and were required to be single, never to marry. That policy, called celibacy, ignores God’s purpose for marriage and the family (Genesis 1:27-28; 2:24; Malachi 2:15; Matthew 19:5; 1 Corinthians 7:2-5), and, for some, results in sexual perversions and abuse—problems still evident in today’s headlines and lawsuits. Rome’s celibacy law contradicts the biblical requirement that an overseer or bishop “must be… the husband of one wife” (1 Timothy 3:2). Along with food rules, it reminds us of Paul’s prophecy:
“SOME WILL DEPART.”
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. (1 Timothy 4:1-3)