Priest reprimanding someone in the Mass during the Homily

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Is it a proper gesture or action for a priest to reprimand a (mentally) disabled person who kept on shouting inside the church during the homily?

It was like shame was brought upon to the person.

And it made me upset that the priest knew that the person was mentally disabled and yet he still continued to embarass the person to the crowd.

Thoughts please? thanks! 💙🙌
 
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The priest has every right to be heard in how own Church…
Having said that there are more graceful ways of preserving that.

I think it would have been better to approach the caregiver about the problem after mass.
 
yes but the act was too harsh. 😦 sad that more priests are being this way. We must pray for them.
 
Personally, I would try to give the priest the benefit of the doubt. There is a possibility that the priest knew the disabled person well enough to know that a personal reprimand might be just what was needed to remind the person to behave appropriately during the holy Mass.
 
the person was (obviously) disabled. and there could be other ways to reprimand such attitude. Not in front if many people and especially not during the mass 😦
 
Context, no it isn’t proper, if it was done in a rude manner and brought all eyes upon the person, it is just one example of why someone would actually say adios to the church. Priests are not allowed to stop any part of the mass due to loud anything, if loudness is a problem then one would have to reprimand loud children and everyone else, not to mention to silence all the chatting before and after mass.

If it was done in a rude manner then it would be prudent to report the behavior to his bishop and let the his boss handle it.
 
pandajc said:
the person was (obviously) disabled. and there could be other ways to reprimand such attitude. Not in front if many people and especially not during the mass 😦
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Not knowing the nature of the disability I can only guess. I have met people with intellectual disabilities who are almost never embarrassed, as their particular disabilities make them unconcerned with the opinions of others. There are pluses and minuses to that. When I was a young adult (a long time ago), I was in a young adult group, and we had a member who was autistic. We sometimes had trouble interacting with him, or knowing how to respond to the way he would interact with us. One day he came to a meeting with a friend who knew him well. At times the friend would say things that would ordinarily seem very rude, but the individual didn’t perceive it that way and would correct his own behavior accordingly. I am wondering if something similar might have been going on in this case. Not everyone feels the same shame and embarrassment you or I would, even when called out for bad behavior in a large crowd.
 
The above post is a good example of how to avoid making rash judgement. Except for the original poster, none of us saw what took place, and so we should assume, at least provisionally, that the priest acted appropriately. Perhaps he knows the disabled person well, and knows how best to communicate with him or her in charity and kindness.
Every good Christian ought to be more ready to give a favorable interpretation to another’s statement than to condemn it. But if he cannot do so, let him ask how the other understands it. And if the latter understands it badly, let the former correct him with love.
– Saint Ignatius of Loyola
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BlackFriar said:
The priest has every right to be heard in how own Church…
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No. the Church is not the property of any body, not even the pope. we are as much members of the Church as the Priest, the Bishop and the Pope. their hierarchical status is ministerial, and geared towards service, and not in anyway a privileged position of higher membership.

@ O.P. No, the priest should not reprimand anyone during the homily. yes, some very distracting incidents can occur, but that is why ushers, wardens etc. are formed in a regular parish setting to help address such situations, without necessitating the direct intervention of the priest. and if such are not present in the church, then the people around would have hushed him/her down if the distraction was too much.
but the major issue here is that the homily is the word of God. to show how important it is, ONLY an ordained minister can give a homily. anything that does not gear towards the edification of God’s people should not absolutely make its way into the homily.
 
I would have to see the situation and also know the priest and his relationship with the person.
As others have said, it may be that the priest knows this person well and knows or has been told that this approach is the best way to deal with it.
I have been in churches where most of the attendees also know the mentally disabled person and there is no shame in singling them out because everybody is aware of the situation.
 
the person attended mass for thw first time there. i personally talked to the caregiver.
 
Its not about property but authority.
Nor is the Catholic Church a democracy.
 
The priest was wrong period… You do not reprimand someone and embarrass them like that in front of the congregation. It is not the priest church, it is God,s house and He invites All of us in. God Bless you.🦋🦋🦋.
 
they wanted to leave immediately but i told them to just finish the mass. I told them to not mind the shouting of the priest.
 
If the person was there for the first time, perhaps the priest did not know he was disabled?
 
If the person was mentally disabled was he or she aware of the situation in order to get embarrassed? I think the most embarrassed was everyone else. Anyway maybe the priest talked further with that person later on. Maybe you can talk to the priest and explain your trouble without sounding like you’re criticizing him and see what he answers.
 
As a layperson in the parish, I would not have done anything because I don’t have authority.

If the ushers don’t do anything, what is the priest to do?
 
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