Can a priest give his political opinion?

[kooldood]

I used to be in this parish, and the pastor there supported the Iraq war. Well, the very next day after 9/11 he preached a sermon saying that the U.S. had an obligation to start a war, a world war if necessary, to preserve freedom throughot the world. (btw i am not saying i agree). Anyway, so is a priest allowed to give his political opinon? I mean because the Church didn’t say this (the iraq war) was a doctorine or anything, and he preached it as a sermon.

 

[DOShea]

Without hearing exactly what he said, how can anyone really judge if it was political or a moral issue? Where exactly does one draw the line and say on this side, the homily is political, on that side it is something else?

The Church’s teaching on war isn’t that hard to understand. War is not the answer, but that said, there are times when it absolutely cannot be avoided. The moral decision lies with the elected officials charged with making the decision. That said, nothing keeps the church from coming behind those who own the moral decision and giving their own opinion, (i.e. -criticizing them) for the way they make it, as is the case with the Iraq War.

 

[NPC]

DOShea rightly asks how one can judge whether the priest was preaching from a political or moral standpoint. However, from what you’ve told us, kooldood, I think I would feel rather uncomfortable if my priest “preached” that my country had an obligation to start a war. This sort of thing seems very far removed from the Code of Canon Law which states that “in the homily the mysteries of faith and the norms of Christian life are to be explained from the sacred text during the course of the liturgical year.” (Can. 767.1). In other words the homily is to be for the spiritual welfare of the people. Certainly a priest, like anyone else, is entitled to take a political stance, but I don’t think the pulpit is the appropriate place from which to air political views.

 

[Christopher68]

DOShea rightly asks how one can judge whether the priest was preaching from a political or moral standpoint. However, from what you’ve told us, kooldood, I think I would feel rather uncomfortable if my priest “preached” that my country had an obligation to start a war. This sort of thing seems very far removed from the Code of Canon Law which states that “in the homily the mysteries of faith and the norms of Christian life are to be explained from the sacred text during the course of the liturgical year.” (Can. 767.1). In other words the homily is to be for the spiritual welfare of the people. Certainly a priest, like anyone else, is entitled to take a political stance, but I don’t think the pulpit is the appropriate place from which to air political views.

Well said.

 

[diggerdomer]

I used to be in this parish, and the pastor there supported the Iraq war. Well, the very next day after 9/11 he preached a sermon saying that the U.S. had an obligation to start a war, a world war if necessary, to preserve freedom throughot the world. (btw i am not saying i agree). Anyway, so is a priest allowed to give his political opinon? I mean because the Church didn’t say this (the iraq war) was a doctorine or anything, and he preached it as a sermon.

From the pulpit, no. He was out of line.

 

[Bluegoat]

Politics and ethical life are closely related, so I can easily imagine a sermon where the two came together in some way. After all, a sermon about abortion legislation would be political.

But… it is so easy in the context of something like a sermon for a priest to substitute his own POV for the Church’s, or to conflate the two. Even with my above example of abortion legislation, it isn’t always clear how specifically the beliefs of the Church would best translate into political life. In the case of the Iraq war and the sermon mentioned in the OP, it sounds to me very questionable that the priests contention was clearly in line with what the CC teaches about war.

What in a way is sad, is that there are times one could legitimately preach an excellent homily about war. There are numerous texts that touch on the subject in some way, and I think very occasionally it is ok to preach on something not connected to the text if it is very much an issue for the congregation. And the topic could be quite profitable in bringing forth what the Christian understanding of war is, and what a Christian response should be, practically and spiritually, when confronted with a war.

But the homily described would make me very uncomfortable.

 

[AHapka]

Let’s not forget that this was the day after 9/11.

This priest may have very well feared that many attacks were coming and that a war was imminent anyway. He may have feared that there would be widespread destruction about to occur, and therefore felt we needed to be on the offensive to prevent the attacks that were coming.

So it may not have been meant so much starting a war as being proactive.

In any event, I’m sure he was in emotional shock the day after. Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt here. If he was still preaching starting a war well after the event, that would be another thing.

 

[Bluegoat]

Let’s not forget that this was the day after 9/11.

This priest may have very well feared that many attacks were coming and that a war was imminent anyway. He may have feared that there would be widespread destruction about to occur, and therefore felt we needed to be on the offensive to prevent the attacks that were coming.

So it may not have been meant so much starting a war as being proactive.

In any event, I’m sure he was in emotional shock the day after. Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt here. If he was still preaching starting a war well after the event, that would be another thing.

Yes. But on the other hand, in such a situation a priest has a special responsibility to remain calm, give clear and correct teachings to his flock, and keep his eye on the big picture.

 

[kooldood]

DOShea rightly asks how one can judge whether the priest was preaching from a political or moral standpoint. However, from what you’ve told us, kooldood, I think I would feel rather uncomfortable if my priest “preached” that my country had an obligation to start a war. This sort of thing seems very far removed from the Code of Canon Law which states that “in the homily the mysteries of faith and the norms of Christian life are to be explained from the sacred text during the course of the liturgical year.” (Can. 767.1). In other words the homily is to be for the spiritual welfare of the people. Certainly a priest, like anyone else, is entitled to take a political stance, but I don’t think the pulpit is the appropriate place from which to air political views.

i agree. thanks so much to all of you. And to clarify things a bit, he didn’t take anything out of the bible; he didn’t preach about the day’s gospel or anything. It was just entirely about the iraq war. and yes it did make me more than a bit uncomfortable. btw, the recording of this sermon is still given out for free. should this stop?

 

[NPC]

i agree. thanks so much to all of you. And to clarify things a bit, he didn’t take anything out of the bible; he didn’t preach about the day’s gospel or anything. It was just entirely about the iraq war. and yes it did make me more than a bit uncomfortable. btw, the recording of this sermon is still given out for free. should this stop?

Is this recording being passed off as a sermon? If so, then I think that should stop. If as you say the “sermon” wasn’t related to the readings, or somehow given in the context of Catholic teachings or for the spiritual nourishment of the Faithful, then it seems to me that what parishioners got was no more than a political rant. The pulpit - indeed the Mass - is no place for such things to be aired.

 

[Bluegoat]

i agree. thanks so much to all of you. And to clarify things a bit, he didn’t take anything out of the bible; he didn’t preach about the day’s gospel or anything. It was just entirely about the iraq war. and yes it did make me more than a bit uncomfortable. btw, the recording of this sermon is still given out for free. should this stop?

I would be worried about this if it were my congregation. What if someone posted on the internet or something saying it represented the views of the Church?

 

[diggerdomer]

i agree. thanks so much to all of you. And to clarify things a bit, he didn’t take anything out of the bible; he didn’t preach about the day’s gospel or anything. It was just entirely about the iraq war. and yes it did make me more than a bit uncomfortable. btw, the recording of this sermon is still given out for free. should this stop?

PReaching about an issue like the war in IRaq is not necessarily wrong, but if he was presenting his own opinion instead of Church teaching that would be a significant concern, I think.

 

[kooldood]

Well, this was something of a habit for this particular priest. He would often preach about things that had no relation to the day’s readings. Mostly they were within a Catholic perspective, though. Not that day. And since this parish was a very republican, the priest’s sermon was seized earnestly. It continues to be praised as a “powerful” sermon and they give these cd’s out on sept. 11 every year.