The practice of celibacy by priests in the Roman Catholic Church has a long history that dates back to approximately the second or third century. While it is clear that the early church leaders were generally married, clerical thought began to progress towards celibacy, so that by the Council of Carthage (1) in the late 300’s A.D., this belief had become an official decree of the church.

The theory for this practice is based on 1 Cor. 7:32-33, where Paul argues that an unmarried person is freer to devote himself to God than someone who has the added responsibility of a wife and family. Taking the entire passage in context, however, makes it clear that Paul was not forbidding marriage or marital relations, as he says in vs. 3, “The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband” (1 Cor. 7). Rather, the criteria for an “overseer” (e.g. priest / bishop / pastor) are merely that he only have one wife (1 Tim. 3:2-4). Moreover, Paul’s writing goes on to criticize those who would forbid marriage (as well as abstinence from certain foods) as having departed from the faith (1 Tim. 4:1-4), and in other passages criticizes Christians for their superstitious beliefs (Galatians 4:8-11) and for submitting to regulations that are intended to punish or restrict the natural life of men, which “are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Colossians 2:20-23).

Considerations of Biblical passages such as those cited above are part of the reason the protestant reformation repudiated the Roman Catholic stance on celibacy, with Martin Luther and several ex-monks and ex-nuns marrying (2).

Personally, I believe that celibacy should not be a requirement for priesthood. Sex is a natural and innate desire, and it is a mistake to forbid it altogether. If priests want to voluntarily take a vow of celibacy, that is another thing.
Source(s):
1. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.xv.iv.iv.iv.html
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther#Marriage_and_family

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