I listened to both videos.
Well, I am a child of God. I was created by God in His image. I respect people and I respect myself. I respect a beggar covered in diarrhea and smelling of aged urine, just as much as I would someone in any high position surrounded by comfort and luxuries. To me a human being is a human being.
I respect priests. I would give my life up any day for that of a priest. I am obedient to priests in their position as priests and as my spiritual fathers. But, if a priest outside of practicing his priestly duties disrespected me - I would not accept it. Period.
In the same way as, if a priest utilizing the authority of the priesthood, misuses it to promote some ideology contrary to the teachings of the Church; I would let go in one ear and out the other. There are, unfortunately, priests, that are teaching what they think should be taught and are upholding what they think is good and promoting this from the altar as if from a podium where they can voice their own individual position on a topic. I understand, for instance, there are priests who have outright promoted the gay lifestyle from the altar, but, this is not the teaching of the Church; and priests in Haiti, who are okay it seems with Voodoo and in even practice some form of it from the altar.
What I am trying to say here is that I respect priests and I listen to them, but I do not check my brain at the entrance. I don’t listen as if I did not have a brain and just accept and receive whatever a priest says from the altar. It has to comply with the teachings of the Church. Furthermore, there are priests from whom I experience much spiritual nourishing, more than others. And, sometimes, I can leave totally empty.
If I had heard that sermon, that is how I would have left - empty. Next.
The priest is pushing his position but lacks respect for those who may hold the contrary view or may be undecided. He stands at a distance and condemns it and disrespecting the intellectual ability of the laity. selective presents who he presents from history and what points he presents. It can be said, that artificially he won his own points but only with those that were not thinking and did not walk away offended or empty.
I can’t take such a presentation serious. There is much immaturity there. A shepherd has to smell like the sheep to better guide them - not stand at a distance like a know it all talking down to the listeners.
To be respected and to guide one needs to respect and be intellectually and spiritually honest about the matter at hand. That means, at the very minimum not being selective about the information presented. Why not, for instance, mention Saint Theresa of Avila? We need to be intellectually honest, and shouldn’t hide her under the carpet someplace. Who said that the only spiritual gift that we are witnessing in modern times is the gift of ‘praying’ in tongues? This is not correct.
So, I would just turn the page with those videos and keep going. I would look for a more serious and mature sheppherd to guide me.
