More to the point, why are the pope and other catholic leaders not allowed to be married if Peter was?

There was no requirement for the clergy of the community to be unmarried until about the 1200s. --- Actually, referring to Peter as the first Pope was an piece of retrocon by the Catholic Church.

"The primacy of St. Peter was ... an essential part of Christ's church, the rock on which it was built ... The House of God will always need its foundation" (The Question Box, Bertrand Conway, 1929 Edition, pp. 153,154). Hence, the authority of Popes is said to be the foundation of the Catholic Church. But the Bible says: God's church has a divine foundation. 1 Corinthians 3:11 - There can be no foundation other than Jesus. 1 Peter. 2:3-8 - Peter himself taught that Jesus is the chief cornerstone on which the church is built. [Cf. Acts 4:10-12.] Matthew 16:13-18 - This passage is often used to try to prove Peter is the foundation of the church (Catechism, p. 56; Question Box, p. 146). But the passages already studied prove that Jesus, not Peter or the Pope, is the foundation of the church. Matthew 16. actually confirms this truth. The context (v13,15,16) is not discussing who Peter is nor what his position is, but who Jesus is and what His position is. The passage does not exalt Peter; it exalts Jesus. Jesus does not confess Peter; Peter confesses Jesus. The verse is not saying Peter is the rock on which the church is built, but rather it contrasts Peter's name (Greek PETROS, masculine - a piece of rock) to the rock on which the church would be built (Greek PETRA, feminine - a solid ledge of rock). Jesus often compared Himself to inanimate objects - a temple (John 2:18-22), a door (John 10:7), a vine (John 15:1-11). Here He compares Himself to a rock, a name often used for Deity in the Old Testament (Psa. 31:3; 71:3; 89:26ff; 18:2f,32f). The foundation of the church is not Peter. It is the truth that Peter had just confessed - that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God (v16). This is confirmed by the context and by other Scriptures. To say Peter is the foundation would be to put a man in the place of Deity!

Peter was never called a Pope (Father) in the Bible. Peter was never a pope. He didn't start the Catholic church.

There was no rule against the clergy being married at the time. The rule was not introduced until medieval times, and is not due to Biblical instructions or advice. Indeed, many Catholics now feel that it should be repealed.

Being married does not preclude one from being head of the universal church. It is technically possible for any Catholic male to be elected pope, although traditionally it has usually been limited to Cardinals. Regarding married priests - even today celibacy is not the rule for all Catholic priests. In fact, for Eastern Rite Catholics, married priests are the norm, just as they are for Orthodox and Oriental Christians.

Celibacy for priests was established later. 1) "Celibacy for priests is a discipline in the Roman Catholic Church, not a doctrine: in other words, a church regulation, but not an integral part of Church teaching. It is based upon the life of Christ and his celibate way of life. However the first pope, St. Peter, as well as many subsequent popes, bishops, and priests during the church's first 270 years were in fact married men, and often fathers. The practice of clerical continence along with a prohibition of marriage to men once ordained a deacon, priest or bishop by the Council of Elvira. This law was reinforced in the West in the Directa Decretal (385 AD) and at the Council of Carthage in 390. It remains law today for Latin Rite Catholics, but not for Eastern Catholics. Until recently, the Eastern Catholic bishops of North America would generally ordain only unmarried men, for fear that married priests would create scandal. Since Vatican II's call for the restoration of Eastern Catholic traditions, a number of bishops have returned to the traditional practice of ordaining married men to the presbyterate. Bishops are still celibate and normally chosen from the ranks of monks. Exceptions are sometimes made (including in Latin-Rite Catholicism), granted by authority of the Pope, when married Protestant clergy become Catholic. Because the rule of celibacy is a law and not a doctrine, it can, in principle, be changed at any time by the Pope. Doctrines, on the other hand, cannot be changed. Nonetheless, both the present Pope, Benedict XVI, and his predecessor, spoke clearly of their understanding that the traditional practice was not likely to change. (For a detailed history of celibacy in the Catholic Church, see the Catholic Encyclopedia's article on "Celibacy of the Clergy" at http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03481a.htm.)" Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clerical_celibacy#Celibacy_in_the_modern_Roman_Catholic_Church 2) "Council of Elvira (c. 305) (Canon 33): It is decided that marriage be altogether prohibited to bishops, priests, and deacons, or to all clerics placed in the ministry, and that they keep away from their wives and not beget children; whoever does this, shall be deprived of the honor of the clerical office. Council of Carthage (390) (Canon 3): It is fitting that the holy bishops and priests of God as well as the Levites, i.e. those who are in the service of the divine sacraments, observe perfect continence, so that they may obtain in all simplicity what they are asking from God; what the Apostles taught and what antiquity itself observed, let us also endeavour to keep… It pleases us all that bishop, priest and deacon, guardians of purity, abstain from conjugal intercourse with their wives, so that those who serve at the altar may keep a perfect chastity." 3) "It is sometimes claimed that celibacy became mandatory for Latin-Rite priests only in the eleventh century; but others say, for instance: "(I)t may fairly be said that by the time of St. Leo the Great (440–61) the law of celibacy was generally recognized in the West,"[9] and that the eleventh-century regulations on this matter, as on simony, should obviously not be interpreted as meaning that either non-celibacy or simony were previously permitted." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clerical_celibacy_%28Catholic_Church%29

Because the celibacy rule did not apply then. It came about 1000 years later.

no where does it say PETER, Petra, Cephas, was a pope or anything more than all the other 12 APOSTLES which means "those sent out", I believe..Jesus 12 were in the Plan to spread the GOOD NEWS and teach the people.they were disciples 1st, but became Apostles when Christ Ascended...Jesus said it was better and easier if they were single to do the Lord's work, but there are those who cant...HE did not forbid them to marry, HE just said it was better and easier to devote more to God... none of the Apostles were better or a leader over the other....or 1st...Peter's CONFESSION, "thou art the Messiah" was the foundation or rock that Jesus built HIS church/house , HIS Body.....which we join at our baptism/acceptance of HIM as Savior...