Asking all priests: Why not talk about the hard issues at Mass?

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They brought in a politician once, but I’m not well versed in these things.
 
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Well, I hope that someone from the Diocese corrected this error.
 
Pitcairn17 said:
I think something needs to be said for the viewpoint that by and large, those still actually coming to Mass not only already know those rules
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I don’t necessarily agree. There are always lost sheep in the pews. I know a church-going Catholic woman who told me that contraception was okay because her priest said that it was from the pulpit! She had an unexpected pregnancy when she went off the pill for a week.

I don’t think these things need to be talked about constantly, and when “fire and brimstone” talk is constant it isn’t necessarily constructive either. Basically, everything in moderation. But there is something to be said about hearing things repeated on a somewhat regular basis. We humans are fallen creatures, and it is easy for us to become complacent in our own lives. Just because we “heard” that contraception is wrong in CCD class 20 years ago doesn’t mean we don’t need to hear it again.
 
I heard this on Catholic radio from someone who knew: “Things went nuts in the seminaries in the 1970s.” Seminarians were taught Humanae Vitae by Pope Paul VI but they were told a falsehood as well. That the Church would change her teaching about contraception at some point. So, when they became priests, and parishioners asked, they told them it was a personal conscience matter, which is false.
 
I’ve had several priest friends in my lifetime. I’m not a priest. However, I got a sense of what they have to go through when they would tell me their homilies for the weekend mass and ask me what I think. I would give them suggestions and they always urged me to ,“tone it down,” or ,“You can’t just say what you think.” “You have to use more tact and be careful of who is in the congregation.” I admit, I do tend to open my gob without thinking of the feelings of others. But, I am learning. Anyway, it is very difficult to know what to say and when to say something about serious sins. I remember sometimes a few of them confided to me that a group of people would corner them and tell them how insensitive they were to say things.
Talk to a priest about this dilemma. It is not as easy as you think.
 
Not a priest but a seminarian.

Of course, these issues are important. I’ve heard several priests bring them up at Mass, some more frequently than others. At certain times, it’s very much appropriate and needed. But priests do have to approach these issues pastorally. They can be difficult teachings for many people, and priests need to be sensitive to that. Teaching the truth and doing it with a gentle (yet firm) touch isn’t an easy task, and that’s maybe why many priests shy away from talking about controversial issues (just postulating here).

I support all the teachings of the Church and love them, but even I cringe a little bit when all a priest talks about is abortion and homosexuality, especially if he’s hitting his congregation over the head with a 2x4 with these issues.

I think priests need to take a positive approach when talking about controversial issues. For example: “here’s the what the Church teaches and here’s why it’s beautiful and positive for how we live our lives.” If priests are talking about difficult issues in a hellfire and brimstone kind of way, it tends to turn people off.

Lastly, I think many priests are just trying to take the gospel readings for the day and explain what Jesus is saying and how to apply them to how we live our lives. Jesus doesn’t explicitly bring up many of these issues, so they often don’t get talked about in homilies.
 
It is even more complicated than that! Priests listen to people in the confessional and may have some ideas about the effect of fire and brimstone preaching on individuals. (As if Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man had not exposed the problems already)
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If anybody really wants a dispassionate, historical discussion, I would like to note that Fulton Sheen died in 1979. The situation he describes is most likely the situation before the Second Vatican Council, not after.
 
edwest211 said:
I heard this on Catholic radio from someone who knew: “Things went nuts in the seminaries in the 1970s.” Seminarians were taught Humanae Vitae by Pope Paul VI but they were told a falsehood as well. That the Church would change her teaching about contraception at some point. So, when they became priests, and parishioners asked, they told them it was a personal conscience matter, which is false.
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Pope Benedict XVI referred this with many examples on his article about the pedophilia scandals. He also gave countless recounts of that time period throughout his interviews.
 
You should watch EWTN.
Just last week Fr. Mark spoke about abortion.
Fr. Zachary talked about problems with divorce and remarriage a few weeks ago.

Idk what part of the country you’re in. But, I’ve heard many homilies preached on abortion/ pro-life, marriage, pornography and even contraception. Priests at Latin Mass parishes are even more prone to make these lol. I wouldn’t say that I hear these often. But, with some regularity. About 3-4 a year, or so.
 
I disagree. Jesus himself told us “you will always have the poor”. This doesn’t mean don’t serve the poor. It just means, they’ll always be there.

Pornography destroying families, ruining courtship and dating for young men and women. Ultimately degrading women by turning them into sexual objects. This leads to the break down of the family. Which is probably the single greatest reason why people aren’t good Christians right now. They weren’t raised Christian because they came from a broken family.
The home is the ‘First Church’, the first place where the Gospel needs to be preached.

That is a much more pressing issue than the poor. The poor don’t destroy a society. The poor are part of society. They always will be. The Church does plenty to serve them. American society is not blighted by record-levels of homeless and poor right now. It is blighted by HUGE percentages of men who watch pornography, of women who use contraception, of divorce, and broken families.
 
Patagonia1 said:
Is it because priests are instructed not to? If so by who? The bishops?
Is it because priests are afraid that they may offend someone?
Is it because priests don’t believe these sins are, in fact, grave?
Is it because priests are afraid that parishioners will stop donating money?
Is it because priests are afraid that they will be on the front pages of liberal news outlets?
Is it for safety?
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NO !!!

If you’re in a mass where the average age in the pews is 70 yo then you don’t want to bother the audience. They go to mass to participate in the Eucharist and enjoy themselves. THOSE MASSES ARE COOL!! A good priest will focus on a feeling of peace and communion during the homily.

Now. Is the audience in that specific mass made of “cultural Catholics”?? Are it members of a “third order”?? Are they working class, or do they overwhelmingly hold academic degrees??

Because the priest knows his congregation best and what sermon is best suited to the needs of that specific flock.

[I go to mass at one place where the priest is a prominent high-profile public intellectual. His homilies top everything you’ve ever heard before.]
 
A priest I know preached a homily about devil being at work in a controversial issue. The local media picked it up. Journalists flooded the parish phone lines to get a quote from him. The priest told me he didn’t know about the controversy because he was recovering from back surgery.
 
I sincerely doubt the last sentence. I was there before and after Vatican II. Things began going downhill in 1966 and kept accelerating.
 
Cool? Reverence in the House of God. In Christ’s presence in the Eucharist.
 
I get that. Anyway, I watched the decline happen in real time after Vatican II.
 
Now that’s not something I would associate with Mass. Mass is for worship, Adoration, glory and praise of our Creator. We are at the Last Supper & at the foot of the cross at Calvary. It is a serious obligation.
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Would you be surprised I enjoy everything you just enumerated and so do those elderly ladies 😀

[Ohh, and I’ve hardly met elderly ladies (or young folk) that can actually say those technical/theological terms. The thing is they pray and go to mass…So I suppose that through some form of “indwelling grace” they know what’s going on…I noticed most could recite the liturgy from memory if it were necessary…]
 
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