Protestant
Didn't Jesus say 'call no man father'?
Jesus was condemning the Pharisees' love of honorific titles that puffed up pride, not forbidding ordinary family language, since Scripture elsewhere freely calls men 'father' in spiritual and natural senses.
Catholic teaching
Read in context, Matthew 23 rebukes seeking status and titles for self-glory; it uses hyperbole ('call no one father... teacher... rabbi') the way Christ also says to 'hate' father and mother, which the Church does not read as literal prohibition of family bonds.
Biblical foundation
Paul calls Abraham 'father of us all' (Rom 4:16) and calls himself father to the Corinthians (1 Cor 4:15) after Christ's words were spoken, showing the apostolic Church never understood Matthew 23:9 as a literal ban.
Scripture references
Historical evidence
No early Christian community, including those closest to the apostles, ever treated this verse as forbidding titles like 'father' for bishops or elders, confirming the Church's contextual reading is original.
The Church Fathers
“He does not forbid one so to call them, but forbids the doing it out of a wish for honor.”