Call No Man "Father"

Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is you Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ." (Matthew 23:9-10) is often cited as proof against calling priests “father”

First, notice that although a superficial reading of the passage might lead one to conclude that no one should be called "teacher", teaching positions were established in Scripture (Mt 28:19, Acts 8, 1 Cor 12:28, Eph 4:11)

Then, note that the 4th Commandment names our natural, earthly father:
“Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you.” – Exodus 20:12

Paul repeatedly refers to a father-son relationship as a spiritual leadership:

"I am writing you this not to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. Even if you should have countless guides to Christ, yet you do not have many fathers, for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Therefore, I urge you, be imitators of me. For this reason I am sending you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord;" - 1 Cor 14-17

"...to Timothy, my true child in faith..." - 1 Tim 1:2

"I entrust this charge to you, Timothy my child..." - 1 Tim 1:18

"So you, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" - 2 Tim 2:1

"...our father Isaac..." - Rom 9:10

"...to Titus, my true child in our common faith..." - Titus 1:4

"My children, for whom I am again in labor until Christ be formed in you!" - Gal 4:19

"But you know his worth, how as a child with a father he served along with me in the cause of the gospel" - Phil 2:22

"I urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus, whose father I have become in my imprisonment..." - Philemon 1:10

Peter does the same:
"The chosen one at Babylon sends you greeting, as does Mark, my son" - 1 Pet 5:13

John does the same:
"My children, I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin" - 1 John 2:1

"I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning" - 1 John 2:13

"Nothing gives me greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth" - 3 John 4

Stephen, “filled with grace and power” (Acts 6:8), repeatedly uses the word father:
"...The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was in Mesopotamia..." - Acts 7:2 (Acts 7:2-53)

Other miscellaneous references to “father”
"...and he has made of me a father to Pharaoh, lord of all his household and ruler over the whole land of Egypt" - Gen 45:8

"I was a father to the needy..." - Job 29:16

"...He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah" - Isaiah 22:21

"When the king of Israel saw them, he asked, 'Shall I kill them, my father [Elisha]?" - 2 Kings 6:21

“And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me…” – Luke 16:24

So, is it unbiblical to refer to our priests as our spiritual fathers? No. In fact, Matthew 23 has nothing to do with this, because it is obvious that Jesus was only commanding that there be “no honoring of gods other than the one Lord who has revealed himself to his people” (CCC 2210)

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