Priest reprimanding someone in the Mass during the Homily

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Could the person with them have maybe taken them outside for a little while to calm down when the shouting started? It could have been handled a lot better by the priest but it’s very frustrating to not be able to hear the homily.
 
Mine wouldn’t have done that. We have a number of mentally ill people who attend Mass and are occasionally disruptive (sometimes even storming out of Mass with foul language, etc) and he just waits until it is quiet again and then carries on. Someone asked him about it one day, implying he should be doing more, or preventing these people from attending, and he looked at them and said, “No one wants to have a mental breakdown.” I thought it was one of the most powerfully simple statements I’d ever heard to remind us all to show compassion.
 
Do you know the priest and the person involved in a personal context? If not, there may be important details that you do not know. Perhaps the priest has been working with the parishioner (I will call him Joe) and know that is the best way to deal with Joe.

Maybe Father has been helping Joe. Perhaps Joe’s disabilities make it impossible for him to attend Mass, but Fr is part of the “team plan” to get Joe compliant with his meds and one of the bargains that has been made is that if Joe takes his meds and remains quiet he can attend Mass.

Always assume the best intentions unless you can testify in court to the opposite.
 
pandajc said:
the person attended mass for thw first time there. i personally talked to the caregiver.
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That is a horse of a different color.

Priests deal with people who come in and disrupt mass, drunks, idiots, anti-Catholics (seems Easter Vigil is a real magnet for them, people show up at the Vigil and shout “Catholics are goin to hell!”) The priest has a responsibility to protect the Eucharist first and foremost, to maintain order during the Mass and to make sure that the participants are safe in this world.

As human beings, especially with the news and world events lately, think if you were up there and some stranger making loud disrupting sounds in Mass. First human reaction is to shut that disruption down.

Give the priest a break, he is human.
 
Having not been there, I don’t know if his actions were right or wrong. Perhaps the comments were directed at the caregivers and not the disabled person himself? Maybe the priest has previously addressed the issue with the caregivers and they continue to not take him out when he’s shouting. I just don’t know. I don’t want to condemn or criticize a member of the clergy without knowing everything.
 
He could have said excuse me to the congregation ask for an usher or altar boy to quietly speak to the boy…Again you do not embarrass somrone like that…It’s God’s house;not…the priest’s and there is a open invitation for everyone.;;;;;;;God Bless.🦋🦋🦋
 
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Even if the priest did not do the right thing, nobody’s perfect. (almost nobody) How about we cut him some slack?
 
I do not see where anyone is criticizing the priest or even sound like they are, The embarrassment fell on the boy not the others in church…The priest is human, he makes mistakes like rest of us and he made one here.🦋🦋🦋
 
The subject is either under the charge of a caregiver, or if not, deemed by society
to be capable of self control.

The priest has a right to ensure the common good, which we know allows for the temporary removal of an individual right for the sake of the common good of community. In this case he can insist on the individual relinquishing his right to free expression if it is indeed the proper place for him to do so, if not, the priest can simply tell him to stop since he has the authority in his jurisdiction. He may also choose to instruct security to have him removed. If he is under control of the caregiver he can insist that he remove him and the responsibility is his to do so.

I’m for the priest. I want to hear that homily which was also meant for my benefit.
 
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pandajc said:
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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Did none of the congregation reprimand the priest?

Did none of the congregation assist the child / caregiver?
 
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At my last church there was (and still is) an elderly man who has learning difficulties (he shouts out and repeats what others are saying). When the current wonderful priest moved there, he asked him to be an altar server at the early morning Sunday Mass, where there are no other servers.

The man always carries out all the tasks without making mistakes, and when he adds his own comments or repeats some of the priest’s responses, the priest just says “That’s right, (name)” and smiles at him.

This priest is a holy and spiritual man, how he’s dealt with this parishioner is fantastic. He never thought to quieten him or exclude him, he drew him right into the Mass.
 
I talked to the caregiver, the mother was able to calm the person involved.
 
It might be a good idea to come up with some strategies for when this person is in a situation they struggle to cope with.
 
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