Dear dartuser,
I feel so sorry for you since you are probably using a Bible that does not have the correct translations. Priest was one of the words that was changed as far as I know.
When your translation is checked against the Duoay Rheims, the Latin and the Greek, as well as the Jerusalem Bible, you will see the word priest.
Your remarks are insulting and naive.
I translate the Greek NT for myself. I use the English for exposition but check it against the Greek for the vital nuances that are in the Greek grammar. I suspect you do not do likewise.
My objection to the article was that the word 'priest' is not used in ANY of the passages where the qualifications for church leadership is mentioned. That would be 1 Tim 3, Titus 1, 1 Peter 5 ...
Priest was one of the words that was changed as far as I know.
That's just it ... you don't know ... you just assume what the RCC has fed you all these years.
When your translation is checked against the Duoay Rheims, the Latin and the Greek, as well as the Jerusalem Bible, you will see the word priest.
Like I said, I am reading the Greek ... the NT was originally written in the Greek. Now I just happen to have one of your Douay Rheims texts ... and guess what ... the D-R does not have the word priest in the passages that I mentioned. Repeat, your own Catholic translation does not support your position.
Further, a few weeks ago I mentioned that all three terms used in the NT (πρεσβύτεροι, ἐπισκοπῆς, ποιμένας) for leadership in the church refer to the same office.
In Acts 20:17 Paul calls for the Ephesian elders (πρεσβυτέρους) ... in 20:28 as he is addressing the elders he says that the Holy Spirit has made them overseers (ἐπισκόπους) and instructs them to shepherd (ποιμαίνειν) the church of God.
Do yourself a favor, go get a book called Biblical Eldership by Alexander Strauch. No, its not written by a Roman Catholic ... so it will take some courage on your part to read it.