Why are Catholic priests called 'Father'?

Factual Questions
1

I tried to Google this, but the intertubes are clogged with arguments between fundamentalist Protestants claiming that this terminology proves that the Catholic church is a tool of Satan (something about Jesus saying to ‘call no man father’), and Catholic apologists explaining why this wasn’t meant to be taken literally and that it all makes perfect theological sense.

I don’t care about any of that, so don’t start. (GD would be a good place for that discussion, if, for whatever reason, you want to have it. :slight_smile: ) What I want to know is, when and how did that tradition start? Is it lost in the mists of time, or is there some record of when that was made an official form of address for priests?

2

I believe it goes all the way back to the use of Aramaic abba, “father”, as the head of a monastic house or religious order in the early Christian church. From abba to pater in the Latin church is an obvious transition, but I have no idea about when the title “Father” officially became the recognized form of address for priests in Anglophone countries, sorry about that.

3

It seems to have started in monasteries, when a distinction was observed between those who had obtained priestly ordination, addressed as “father”, and those who hadn’t, addressed as “brother”. There were differences in both function and status between them, hence the reason for having different forms of address/reference, and the choice of terms drawn from family relationships reflected the view of the monastic community as a spiritual family.

Over time, usage seems to have crossed over to refer to/address priests who weren’t monks. Note that this wasn’t a uniform practice; in Italy, which is about as Catholic a culture as you can get, for example, a priest was (and I think still is) addressed/referred to as Don X, where “Don” is an honorific with no connotations of paternity (and one which is not exclusive to the clergy).

In French, a priest is addressed not as père, the conventional French word for “father” but as abbé, which comes from a Syriac root which in fact does mean “father”, though most French-speakers probably wouldn’t immediately make the connection. Again, the title came through the monastic tradition; compare the English “abbot”, a spiritual father to his monks.

In German I gather the distinction is still maintained; a monastic priest is addressed with the latin term pater, meaning “father” while a non-monastic priest is pfarrer (“shepherd” or “pastor”). The German Vater (“father”) is not used.

The Spanish term padre (“father”) is sometimes used by English-speakers, particularly in military circles, to refer to a priest. I don’t know whether it is so used by Spanish speakers, though.

In short, the title was originally monastic, and reflected monastic self-understanding as a spiritual family. Over time it came to be widely, though not universally, applied to non-monastic clergy as well. I suspect there was a time when monastic clergy had a higher status, and non-monastic clergy were seeking the same status, but that’s just a guess on my part.

4

Yes, it is, and men belonging to religious orders but not ordained as priests are hermanos. Nuns are madres (some orders reserve madre for the mother superior and scold you if you call them mother, they prefer hermana).

5

Like almost any other honorific, it was adopted to help create or to reinforce a distinction between social non-equals. If you don’t agree with this distinction, then you’re under no obligation to use the honorific (or any other, for that matter).

6

I disagree. While this may vary regionally, “Vater” is an acceptable form of address for any priest, monasic or not. “Pfarrer” is a protestant word, the catholic equivalent is “Priester”, which is not used as an address, though. You would either say “Vater” or “Pater”.

7

Well, it’s a professional title (like “Professor”), not a social one (like “Lord”).

Of course you’re under no obligation to use it; you’re not obliged to use his name if you don’t choose to. He may in turn consider himself not obliged to respond, though. :stuck_out_tongue:

8

“In French, a priest is addressed not as père, the conventional French word for “father” but as abbé, which comes from a Syriac root which in fact does mean “father”, though most French-speakers probably wouldn’t immediately make the connection. Again, the title came through the monastic tradition; compare the English “abbot”, a spiritual father to his monks.” (post #3).

In French a priest is addressed as “mon père” or “père X”. An “abbé” is a superior in an abbey. An abbé can be addressed as “mon père”.

9

Thank you all for your informative and interesting responses!

10

List of said nuns, please? I’m Protestant, but I’ve heard horror stories about nuns and how they scold you, I don’t want to be on the bad side of one if I meet one!

11

There are hundreds of denominations, and I doubt even the Vatican bothers track which ones prefer what… you could try asking them. Anyway, those scoldings can’t hold a candle to your average grandmother or Mamma. The ones I’ve had on the grounds of form of address tend to be a mere “sister!” - it’s just a very forceful “sister”, you feel more like saying “SAH! YESSAH!” than “oh, I’m sorry, my apologies.”

12

Forgive me abba, for I do not like your singing.

13

interesting I did not know that