I would say if it was a commercial add then as long as they paid for it you would have to include it. If it’s free it would make sense to reject it.Is it wrong for a Catholic Church to run an article in the church bulletin advertising a non-demoninational christian school’s open house? I was thinking it wasn’t appropriate since there are plenty of Catholic school’s in the area that could benefit from increased enrollment, and why send parents away from the Church. (By the way, it’s not a paid ad, if that makes a difference.) I would appreciate any (name removed by moderator)ut.
A Catholic “bulletin” is supposed to have announcements about activities, possibly a schedule for different ministries (servers), and what was taken in at the last collection. There is no need for an “order of service” as there are missals or missalettes in the pews or on the rack; besides, most people have it memorized. Instead, hymn numbers are posted up front, on the black board that takes plastic letters (formerly cardboard letters).Why not? They run ads for liquor stores.
(The things that modern US Catholics take for granted (sigh). A church bulletin is not supposed to have ads in it at all, even though virtually every one, including those for many cathedral parishes, has them. It is supposed to be an order of service with announcements for the parish so that the priest doesn’t have to read them during Mass. Even low-worship protestant denominations recognized this a long time ago. This is another “modern” custom more honored in the breach than in the observance.)
I am aware of these facts, and they are exactly the problem. “Father” is not supposed to care that the bulletin is frree. He is supposed to expect to have to pay for it, like everything else. Advertisements in church bulletins are the equivalent of Bingo, a convenient way to make money in view ot the traditionally low giving levels of US Catholics.A Catholic “bulletin” is supposed to have announcements about activities, possibly a schedule for different ministries (servers), and what was taken in at the last collection. There is no need for an “order of service” as there are missals or missalettes in the pews or on the rack; besides, most people have it memorized. Instead, hymn numbers are posted up front, on the black board that takes plastic letters (formerly cardboard letters).
In order to finance the bulletins in various parishes, decades ago (from checking the National Archives for a research project on something else, I looked back as far as 1920), enterprising printers hired a salesman who would go out and comb “donations” from the businessmen who were parishioners. In return, the printer would give the business an ad block on the back of the bulletin. Size of ad was determined by size of donation. Father was told he could have his parish bulletin “absolutely free”.