G
GwenL
Guest
I would NOT contact the bishop’s office as the first action. Before going to the bishop, you really should talk to the priest directly first. Be humble, kind, and charitable, and tell him your concerns. Write a letter first to the bishop, and he (or his staff) will probably reply to you with “did you already talk to the priest?”
If the priest is not the pastor at that parish, your second step is to talk to the pastor.
In any event, I would be really hesitant to do any of the above based on one Mass. Maybe the priest is sick? Exhausted? Shouldn’t you give a priest at least the benefit of the doubt the first time?
I’ve seen some pretty bad abuse, and come to find out that the celebrating priest was caught totally by surprise by the actions of “laypeople in charge” and either didn’t think fast enough or didn’t want to totally disrupt Mass by putting things right (events were illicit, but didn’t invalidate the Eucharist). For example (not at my parish), I saw a visiting priest virtually shoved aside by a group of EMsHC who, at the altar, grabbed the ciborium right after consecration and started dividing up the hosts for distribution. Another where the kids were brought up to be with Father at the altar for consecration. All to his surprise.
If the priest is not the pastor at that parish, your second step is to talk to the pastor.
In any event, I would be really hesitant to do any of the above based on one Mass. Maybe the priest is sick? Exhausted? Shouldn’t you give a priest at least the benefit of the doubt the first time?
I’ve seen some pretty bad abuse, and come to find out that the celebrating priest was caught totally by surprise by the actions of “laypeople in charge” and either didn’t think fast enough or didn’t want to totally disrupt Mass by putting things right (events were illicit, but didn’t invalidate the Eucharist). For example (not at my parish), I saw a visiting priest virtually shoved aside by a group of EMsHC who, at the altar, grabbed the ciborium right after consecration and started dividing up the hosts for distribution. Another where the kids were brought up to be with Father at the altar for consecration. All to his surprise.