protestant minister "preaching" during Catholic mass

[polki]

How is it that a protestant minister is allowed to preach at a Catholic mass? I did not go to this particular mass, so I can’t say that he gave the homily, but it was advertised that he would be “preaching at mass” that week. How can protestants preach to Catholics about the Catholic faith if they don’t follow it themselves?

 

[1ke]

How is it that a protestant minister is allowed to preach at a Catholic mass? I did not go to this particular mass, so I can’t say that he gave the homily, but it was advertised that he would be “preaching at mass” that week. How can protestants preach to Catholics about the Catholic faith if they don’t follow it themselves?

Since the only people who may preach at a Catholic mass are a Catholic deacon, priest, or bishop, I believe this is a question you must take up with your local parish or bishop, not CAF.

We cannot answer how or why someone was “allowed” to do what is not allowed.

However, since you also mention that you were not there and don’t know precisely what this “preaching” encompassed or when it occurred, you should be cautious in making any accusations. Seek facts, not rumors. Perhaps ask the pastor of that parish what occurred and why.

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

How is it that a protestant minister is allowed to preach at a Catholic mass? I did not go to this particular mass, so I can’t say that he gave the homily, but it was advertised that he would be “preaching at mass” that week. How can protestants preach to Catholics about the Catholic faith if they don’t follow it themselves?

How is it? Well it is against the rules, but then again in the times we live in rules are out the window. Why be so rigid and judgmental, lets let anyone preach at Mass…

 

[polki]

Since the only people who may preach at a Catholic mass are a Catholic deacon, priest, or bishop, I believe this is a question you must take up with your local parish or bishop, not CAF.

We cannot answer how or why someone was “allowed” to do what is not allowed.

However, since you also mention that you were not there and don’t know precisely what this “preaching” encompassed or when it occurred, you should be cautious in making any accusations. Seek facts, not rumors. Perhaps ask the pastor of that parish what occurred and why.

I am NOT making up rumors. I simply asked a question. That is what Catholic Answers if for! Don’t accuse me of making false accusations. I did no such thing. I will quote the bulletin: “(so and so from the ______ Lutheran Church…) will preach at the 4:00pm Mass”

Those are their words, not mine. They did not say “give a talk” or “attend the Mass” it said “preach.” Therefore, how would I need to go to the Mass to hear the “preaching” in order to ask if it was allowed or not? Preaching is preaching. Regardless of the content, this person is not Catholic. Perhaps if he wanted to speak to the congregation, it could have been done at a time outside of Mass, however that is NOT what the bulletin advertised.

 

[KendraDZ1902]

However, since you also mention that you were not there and don’t know precisely what this “preaching” encompassed or when it occurred, you should be cautious in making any accusations. Seek facts, not rumors. Perhaps ask the pastor of that parish what occurred and why.

I am NOT making up rumors. I simply asked a question. That is what Catholic Answers if for! Don’t accuse me of making false accusations. I did no such thing. I will quote the bulletin: “(so and so from the ______ Lutheran Church…) will preach at the 4:00pm Mass”

Those are their words, not mine. They did not say “give a talk” or “attend the Mass” it said “preach.” Therefore, how would I need to go to the Mass to hear the “preaching” in order to ask if it was allowed or not? Preaching is preaching. Regardless of the content, this person is not Catholic. Perhaps if he wanted to speak to the congregation, it could have been done at a time outside of Mass, however that is NOT what the bulletin advertised.

Easy, tiger. 1ke didn’t accuse you of anything. 1ke said to be CAUTIOUS and to seek answers from people who were there, NOT rumors. And said to ask the pastor of your parish what went on…he should definitely know what happened.

 

[2Rollin_Stoned]

I’d go to the pastor of that church first and insure that you heard right, and then if true, it should go to the bishop.

 

[mommy_k]

Perhaps they are having a fund raiser or something and in the spirit of Christian unity, the pastor is allowing him to speak.

If it didn’t say homily, I would guess it’s something like this.

 

[phil19034]

I am NOT making up rumors. I simply asked a question. That is what Catholic Answers if for! Don’t accuse me of making false accusations. I did no such thing. I will quote the bulletin: “(so and so from the ______ Lutheran Church…) will preach at the 4:00pm Mass”

Those are their words, not mine. They did not say “give a talk” or “attend the Mass” it said “preach.” Therefore, how would I need to go to the Mass to hear the “preaching” in order to ask if it was allowed or not? Preaching is preaching. Regardless of the content, this person is not Catholic. Perhaps if he wanted to speak to the congregation, it could have been done at a time outside of Mass, however that is NOT what the bulletin advertised.

Ask the pastor what really happened. Was the bulletin description an accurate description? Was it during Mass or right after? If during Mass, was it during “announcements”? Plus what was he “preaching” about? Also ask someone who was there.

If it sounds kosher, let it go. If it doesn’t, talk to the pastor and if it still doesn’t sound kosher contact the bishop.

God Bless

 

[1ke]

I am NOT making up rumors. I simply asked a question.

I believe you’ve misunderstood me. I did not say you were making up rumors.

accuse me of making false accusations.

Again, I didn’t accuse you of anything.

Therefore, how would I need to go to the Mass to hear the “preaching” in order to ask if it was allowed or not?

look, I don’t know what you **think **I said, but that is not what I said.

Preaching is preaching. Regardless of the content, this person is not Catholic. Perhaps if he wanted to speak to the congregation, it could have been done at a time outside of Mass, however that is NOT what the bulletin advertised.

Well, go talk to your pastor about it.

 

[getysbg]

I am NOT making up rumors. I simply asked a question. That is what Catholic Answers if for! Don’t accuse me of making false accusations. I did no such thing. I will quote the bulletin: “(so and so from the ______ Lutheran Church…) will preach at the 4:00pm Mass”

Those are their words, not mine. They did not say “give a talk” or “attend the Mass” it said “preach.” Therefore, how would I need to go to the Mass to hear the “preaching” in order to ask if it was allowed or not? Preaching is preaching. Regardless of the content, this person is not Catholic. Perhaps if he wanted to speak to the congregation, it could have been done at a time outside of Mass, however that is NOT what the bulletin advertised.

Polki, you are not the first to be a target of 1ke’s sharp keyboard. She hit me once for asking a question also. And while I have always found her answers to be useful, she can be more than a little tactless.

 

[KendraDZ1902]

Polki, you are not the first to be a target of 1ke’s sharp keyboard. She hit me once for asking a question also. And while I have always found her answers to be useful, she can be more than a little tactless.

Woah, at least she doesn’t name call.

 

[SMHW]

I prefer to view the the matter this way:

The idea of a protestant minister “preaching” at Mass tends to invoke an emotional response in those who hear about it. Some will react negatively; others will react positively.

But those emotional responses have no bearing on whether or not it is true that a protestant minister is preaching at Mass or on whether or not it is permissible for a protestant minister to preach at Mass. (Consider that announcements in bulletins frequently use colloquial language rather than liturgically precise language.)

Some of us (including me) prefer to offer direct advice (such as to ask questions of the pastor) rather than worrying about the emotions of excited posters.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

I’m wondering what provoked such a strong reaction in the response to the OP’s question.

The OP wasn’t there so can’t say anything based on personal experience. The response to that was “seek facts, not rumors. Perhaps ask the pastor what occurred and why. We on CAF can’t answer how or why someone was allowed to do what is not allowed.”

What response would the OP prefer?

 

[ProVobis]

I am NOT making up rumors. I simply asked a question. That is what Catholic Answers if for! Don’t accuse me of making false accusations. I did no such thing. I will quote the bulletin: “(so and so from the ______ Lutheran Church…) will preach at the 4:00pm Mass”

My take is that if it’s documented in the bulletin like that, it is for the world to read, including the bishop. The bishop might already know about it and has given some, even tacit, approval. Not a given, though.

 

[polki]

I’m wondering what provoked such a strong reaction in the response to the OP’s question.

The OP wasn’t there so can’t say anything based on personal experience. The response to that was “seek facts, not rumors. Perhaps ask the pastor what occurred and why. We on CAF can’t answer how or why someone was allowed to do what is not allowed.”

What response would the OP prefer?

If the best answer to my question is “ask the pastor” well I could have come up with that answer. I thought I would get more insight by posing the question here, as to what the Church’s position on this matter is.

When I tried to look it up on the internet, I could only find what was permissible for the homily. As I said, I do not know if it was the homily. If I were to ask my pastor, it would be nice to know if there are any references to which I could refer when sparking up the conversation.

Next time, I will know that the official Catholic Answers answer is “ask a priest” (as if each and every response from each and every priest is 100% correct.) Because, to not do so would be the equivalent of “seeking rumors not facts.”

 

[ThyKingdomCome]

Ha, against my better judgment, entering a discussion that heated up quickly…

A protestant minister is most definitely NOT allowed to give a homily at a Catholic Mass. For that matter a Catholic lay person isn’t either. For years, churches have gotten around this rule by not labeling it a homily. Sometimes the priest will give a very short homily first (sometimes as short as an introduction) and then “hand the mic” over to the guest speaker. Usually you see this when a missionary comes to make an appeal, or when a parish trustee gives the financial report, or for another reason that isn’t in and of itself contrary to the faith. Well intentioned though it is, I wish it never happened. It is not unheard of (unfortunately) for some churches to do a pastor swap in the name of ecumenism. I would guess that this is a much smaller percentage of parishes that cross this line, and I would also guess that for the most part, the pastors that agree to this are savvy enough to label it a reflection, not a homily, so as to be able to defend themselves against an accusation of wrongdoing. I don’t know if there is an offical rule against a priest giving a reflection in a non Catholic church, or a non Catholic giving a reflection in a Catholic church, but obviously it’s a bad idea and can be very dangerous to the faith of those in the pews.