Priest have not always been celibate  While celibacy had been encouraged since the beginning of the church, until the beginning of the twelfth century, when it was banned by the Lateran Councils of 1123 and 1139, Priests in the Western church were permitted to marry. [1] The Bible does not mandate celibacy and, in fact, St Peter, the first pope, was married. Even today within the Catholic Church celibacy is not universal as Eastern Rite Catholics can marry and it is the norm that they do, [2] and there are some Lutheran and Episcopalian ministers who have converted to Catholicism. [3] The true history and traditions of the Roman Catholic Church include the option for priests to marry or at least for married men to become priests.  [1] Parish, Helen, Clerical Celibacy in the West: c.1100-1700, Ashgate Publishing Limited, Farnham, 2010, pp103-4,   [2] Brom, Robert H., Bishop of San Diego, ‘Celibacy and the Priesthood’, Catholic.com, 10 August 2004,   [3] Johnston, George Sim, ‘The Case for Priestly Celibacy’, Catholic News Agency,