Is not preaching against mortal sin, a mortal sin?

[Buckeyejoe]

When a Priest deliberately avoids mentioning any mortal sins by name (Which is the case at my Parish 99% of the time), side stepping issues like abortion, gay marriage, homosexuality, pornography, divorce…Usually becasue they do not want to offend someone, and they want to be liked by the Parishoners… because of the Spiritual position given to them by God, to preach and teach the truth…When our priests do this (which is almost every Sunday at my Parish) are they commiting mortal sin?

What’s your thoughts?

Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut.
God Bless.

Joe.

 

[Brain]

perhaps a sin of omission, but he would have to pass the motal sin requirements (serious matter, free will, knowlege it was wrong). so maybe. however, understand that the preist may have a somewhat mixed crowd (i.e. children) or some other valid or pseudo-valid reason. I tend to give preists the benefit of the doubt untll they give me direct proof of their inadiquacies. but sometimes i wonder if we are not being to terribly scupulous these days…

 

[EsclavoDeCristo]

Buckeyejoe:

When a Priest deliberately avoids mentioning any mortal sins by name (Which is the case at my Parish 99% of the time), side stepping issues like abortion, gay marriage, homosexuality, pornography, divorce…Usually becasue they do not want to offend someone, and they want to be liked by the Parishoners… because of the Spiritual position given to them by God, to preach and teach the truth…When our priests do this (which is almost every Sunday at my Parish) are they commiting mortal sin?

What’s your thoughts?

Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut.
God Bless.

Joe.

Great question Joe. I would have to agree with the previous response. I think it just depends on the audience and the priest’s intention. I think its safe to say that the deliberate omition of certain things from the homily is a sin, I just don’t think we can make generalizations and say that “this” is a venial sin and “that” is a mortal one.

 

[GeorgeCooney]

Buckeyejoe:

When a Priest deliberately avoids mentioning any mortal sins by name (Which is the case at my Parish 99% of the time), side stepping issues like abortion, gay marriage, homosexuality, pornography, divorce…Usually becasue they do not want to offend someone, and they want to be liked by the Parishoners… because of the Spiritual position given to them by God, to preach and teach the truth…When our priests do this (which is almost every Sunday at my Parish) are they commiting mortal sin?

JMJ

No one can say that another has committed a mortal sin, because we cannot see into their soul, but we can often know and observe the commission of an act (or failure to act) as objectively being a grave sin. From pope to priest, their two primary purposes are to bring the Blessed Sacrament to the world and to teach those things necessary to do and not to do which will gain eternal salvation. That teaching is an absolute reponsibility. Every failure in that responsibility can bring the loss of each soul thereby upon the soul of that priest, bishop, or pope. That is why the responsibility upon the priesthood is so awesome. They are personally responsible to God for any soul lost because of their failure to teach.

Concerning the priest who wants to be liked, or doesn’t want to offend someone, or worries about the young and children hearing his sermon, he has absolutely no excuse there. When teaching about immoral acts, it is not necessary to go into details. It cannot harm children to hear that fornication, adultery, abortion, interference with procreation, etc., are mortal sins. In fact they should hear this from one-day-old until death. It cannot hurt to hear that voting for a promoter of baby killing or homosexuality is a mortal sin. It canot hurt to hear that missing Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of obligation is a mortal sin. It cannot hurt to hear that receiving Holy Communion with any unconfessed mortal sin upon the soul is a mortal sin and a sacrilege. It cannot hurt to hear that all defined dogmas of the Catholic Church must be accepted and professed and that failue to accept is a mortal sin and heresy. And so on, and so on.

Concerning the requirements for a mortal sin; seemingly, under your description, the only possible excuse would be “lack of knowledge” that failure to teach is a mortal sin. In that case, the priests failure to teach and his lack of knowledge would be the responsibility of those who failed to teach that priest in the seminary, in Church during his youth, and at home by his parents. All the souls this priests loses could be on those souls who failed to teach him.

 

[BLB_Oregon]

Buckeyejoe:

When a Priest deliberately avoids mentioning any mortal sins by name (Which is the case at my Parish 99% of the time), side stepping issues like abortion, gay marriage, homosexuality, pornography, divorce…Usually becasue they do not want to offend someone, and they want to be liked by the Parishoners… because of the Spiritual position given to them by God, to preach and teach the truth…When our priests do this (which is almost every Sunday at my Parish) are they commiting mortal sin?

What’s your thoughts?

Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut.
God Bless.

Joe.

Where did you get the idea that this was deliberate, and how do you presume to know what his motives are? Let me hazard some more charitable reasons he might have for for his choice of topics:

a) He has been preaching on the Word of God for that Sunday–as a homily should do–and the subject you want to hear about did not fit.

b) He may think that he is more bound to preach about the sins you commit than the ones other people are committing, not to mention the positive virtues you should all be pursuing.

c) Like any parent, relatively little of what he has to say has to do with merely staying out of jail. Even a parent who lives in “Crack Alley” has other things to say to their children (or at least they’d better have).

You don’t have to think about it very long to realize this is not an exhaustive list.

Examine your conscience and ask yourself why you need to know what is or is not a mortal sin for a priest, since you are neither a priest yourself nor have you any under your direction.

Then, let’s assume you are not personally committing any of the sins you listed. Why are you displeased to be getting spiritual direction from the pulpit? Could you, standing in front of the priest, give an intelligent account of what your pastor did have to say to you over, say, the last four Sundays? If you are, I say good for you… but what are you so upset about? If not, listen to what each homily is saying to you, over concern for your spiritual advancement, and spend less anxiety over which of your fellow parishioners aren’t being read the riot act.

 

[baltobetsy]

Telling the priest you’d like to hear homilies on these topics would certainly be more fruitful than speculating on the state of his soul.

Betsy

 

[Deacon_Ed]

Buckeyejoe:

When a Priest deliberately avoids mentioning any mortal sins by name (Which is the case at my Parish 99% of the time), side stepping issues like abortion, gay marriage, homosexuality, pornography, divorce…Usually becasue they do not want to offend someone, and they want to be liked by the Parishoners… because of the Spiritual position given to them by God, to preach and teach the truth…When our priests do this (which is almost every Sunday at my Parish) are they commiting mortal sin?

First, I wonder how it is that you know the reason the priest doesn’t discuss those issues…

Second, most of us were trained to preach on the readings of the day. What you seem to be asking for is a sermon as opposed to a homily. Homilys are supposed to be drawn from the Scripture with examples for how to put the readings into action in our everyday lives. Sermons were moralizing speeches designed to provide catechesis and moral direction for others. Homilies are directed to the preacher just as much as to the people.

Now, that being said, it is not a mortal sin not to preach on those issues. Sins of omission (which this *might *be) are rarely of such a nature as to fall into the category of mortal sin.

Recently we had a reading from Paul that spoke of freedom. I used that to preach on the true meaning of freedom, and not the version of freedom (actually license) that we seem to want today. Using that as a springboard I was able to discuss issues of morality (especially in choices of what we watch) and in our responsibilty to vote in accordance with the teachings of the Church and the dictates of our well-formed conscience. However, these opportunities do not always present themselves in the scope of the readings.

Deacon Ed

 

[Buckeyejoe]

Thanks everyone who contributed so far.

My concern today is that the prevalent culture is bombarding us with immoral propaganda at every turn, the last real line of counter defense is the pulpit. And when the Priest does not speak out against the ever increasing immorality that is destroying children’s innocence, marriages, and creating luke warm Catholics, do we not have a major problem?

A Pastor in my area would not speak out against abortion on the Anniversary of Roe vs Wade, after myself and several others had kindly asked if this was possible. He couldn’t becasue it didn’t fit into the Scripture readings for that day. He did allow a moment of silence after mass for the occassion.

I certainly do not want to be overly critical of our Priests and if I am please let me know… But is it cowardice on their part? …Do you feel the sermons/homilies whatever they are, are appropriate and Holy Spirit filled?

Thanks
Joe.

 

[BLB_Oregon]

Buckeyejoe:

A Pastor in my area would not speak out against abortion on the Anniversary of Roe vs Wade, after myself and several others had kindly asked if this was possible. He couldn’t becasue it didn’t fit into the Scripture readings for that day. He did allow a moment of silence after mass for the occassion.

In our archdiocese, there is a Sunday every year on which the Archbishop directs that all homilies shall treat the subject of abortion. No matter where you go, you’re going to hear it. Rather than make this about your priest in particular, you might want to write your bishop and ask if your diocese might do something similar.

One of the best homilies I have heard on one of these Sundays spent a rather brief time reiterating that the Church has no way altered her well-known stand on the issue, then went on to challenge the congregation to consider any ways in which they might be complicit, knowingly or unknowingly. The priest particularly asked if we had been deligent in offering comfort and understanding to unwed mothers, that we always spoke positively about the anticipated arrival of a child, that we strove in our civil life not only to oppose abortion, but to support those things that might foster a culture in which carrying all pregnancies to term would be seen as the preferred alternative. Because so many have the misguided notion of “not bringing a child into the family I could provide,” he wanted to ask if we were doing all we could to provide a secure home life for all families and to support the Catholic family as a positive contribution to the future of the world. In short, the homily was a challenge to everyone present, and yet was done with a thoroughly pastoral tone.

 

[elrondaragorn]

Ask the priest that appeared on Mother Angelica who said he was like that and almost weent tohell because of it

Buckeyejoe:

When a Priest deliberately avoids mentioning any mortal sins by name (Which is the case at my Parish 99% of the time), side stepping issues like abortion, gay marriage, homosexuality, pornography, divorce…Usually becasue they do not want to offend someone, and they want to be liked by the Parishoners… because of the Spiritual position given to them by God, to preach and teach the truth…When our priests do this (which is almost every Sunday at my Parish) are they commiting mortal sin?

What’s your thoughts?

Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut.
God Bless.

Joe.

 

[sifted_1]

YES !