Should a priest use foul language?

[Young_Thinker]

No, a priest should never swear(I am not being a hypocrite; personally, I never use foul language)!

 

[Topaz1128]

I don’t think you were treating the priest harshly. It would make me uncomfortable as well. It makes me uncomfortable in any group or interaction if someone must swear. I find I start to tune them out and I’m not longer taking what they say with any consideration. I know that sometimes an occasional swear word slips out, but usually it seems more warrented with the situation takes us by surprise or shock and we’re at a loss of words to respond. But a casual conversation, and the person can’t use more appropriate words to get their point across? I start to lose respect.

Yep, your last sentence says it all for me. I understand if cuss words slip out of lay people, but priests should be beyond that point. And if they use them freely in conversation, I can’t help but lose respect.

And it’s not just Catholic priests or Protestant ministers. When I studied Zen meditation in Japan, the Buddhist priest would drink and smoke with the members after the sessions. It turned me off, and my wife and I quit going.

 

[Young_Thinker]

Now, there is nothing that is wrong with smoking, just as long as it is not during a service(doing so in that situation seems rather irreverent). Carousing among the parishioners with alcohol is certainly not appropriate.

 

[Musicadmirer]

It is certainly unbecoming of a priest to use such language. What we do with our bodies, which are temples of the holy spirit should be respected at all times. Our mouths should reflect purity as well as our mind and soul.

I was a teen among a group of teens when a priest used a certain word more than once. I was stunned.

The type of language that you use shows the amount of respect you have for the other.

 

[trustindalord]

No Christian should use foul language…

“Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear.” Eph 4:28

“…Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you on the day of judgment men will render account for every careless word they utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned,” Matt 12:34-37

Then there is the long passage in James 3…

We should all strive to have speech that lifts up, praises God, helps neighbor, honors others…etc. That being said, it can be a process to change our speech, but it is worth doing lest we cause scandal.

I totaly agree with you and also realize that no one is perfect but we should strive to be for our Father in heaven is perfect

 

[trustindalord]

Well…there’s nothing inherintly sinful about swearing, but it’s certainly not the most polite way of conversing. But, priests are human, afterall. I know when I get going in a long rant things slip out from force of (bad) habit

i think swearing is very sinful because one were accountable for every idle word we speak two words obvisouly are more important than we realize because God created the world and our life when he spoke us into creation " Let there be Light" and there was light i think our words if misused can be hurtful offensive and most definately moraly unacceptable before God and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and also can affect our own moods and situations in wich we deal with for instance if were struggling with situations in life were we are being tempted cursing may nullafy our minds from sinning were we dont realize God provides a way to avoid temptation like for instance when tempted we can pray but if were swearing wich my opinion speaks anger and defeat and hatred towards another can bring us down in a sense not to say i never swear or make mistakes but what i thought about when i read this post… God bless

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

i think swearing is very sinful because one were accountable for every idle word we speak two words obvisouly are more important than we realize because God created the world and our life when he spoke us into creation " Let there be Light" and there was light i think our words if misused can be hurtful offensive and most definately moraly unacceptable before God and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and also can affect our own moods and situations in wich we deal with for instance if were struggling with situations in life were we are being tempted cursing may nullafy our minds from sinning were we dont realize God provides a way to avoid temptation like for instance when tempted we can pray but if were swearing wich my opinion speaks anger and defeat and hatred towards another can bring us down in a sense not to say i never swear or make mistakes but what i thought about when i read this post… God bless

1. Learn to break your words into sentences.
2. I’ve told people who annoyed me to “Go to h***!” No fiery crag from the underworld opened up underneath them. I’ve said the s and c words when I’m inconvenienced. The only bad thing that’s happened, already did (hence why I said such words in the first place).
3. Praying doesn’t work for the clinically ill-tempered. Best let anger out (even more if the anger is righteous). Forcing people to have the patience of a saint will only bottle up anger and that is not healthy.
4. Seeing as priests are just one level below saints though, no I don’t think it’s right for them to swear mainly because it doesn’t suit them. It’s the same way it doesn’t suit a gangster rapper to speak in Medieval English. Not all people are called to be priests though.

 

[O_Duirnin]

Is it just me, or do Americans tend to regard swearing as a far bigger issue than those on this side of the Atlantic do? I would argue that these words do no moral harm if they are used occasionally in conversation between people who’re sensible enough to see them for what they are. It’s when swear words begin to completly replace other perfectly good words in a person’s vocabulary that the the problem begins.

We should also remember that what is considered swearing changes over time. For example, the Victorians regarded use of the word ‘leg’ as being incredibly uncouth, preferring to replace it with the more polite ‘limb’. The word ‘bum’ came about in the late medieval period as it was considered more polite than the word previously in use (which unfortunately evades me). Eventually, the Georgians and Victorians came to regard ‘bum’ as being rude, and replaced it with ‘bottom’, which was originally considered something of a euphemism.

 

[Young_Thinker]

Is it just me, or do Americans tend to regard swearing as a far bigger issue than those on this side of the Atlantic do? I would argue that these words do no moral harm if they are used occasionally in conversation between people who’re sensible enough to see them for what they are. It’s when swear words begin to completly replace other perfectly good words in a person’s vocabulary that the the problem begins.

We should also remember that what is considered swearing changes over time. For example, the Victorians regarded use of the word ‘leg’ as being incredibly uncouth, preferring to replace it with the more polite ‘limb’. The word ‘bum’ came about in the late medieval period as it was considered more polite than the word previously in use (which unfortunately evades me). Eventually, the Georgians and Victorians came to regard ‘bum’ as being rude, and replaced it with ‘bottom’, which was originally considered something of a euphemism.

People, including plenty of Americans, also often like to use vainly God’s name- something that is blasphemous without question while certainly being less disgusting than using the “f-word.” From what I have learned about the French, they seem to generally be rather relaxed about cursing(e.g. using m-e-r-d-e constantly, even as a form of “reverse” luck like “break a limb.”) As one can tell, I myself do not like using the word l-e-g, but I am a bit eccentric. Anyway, until recent times, it has been only natural for the intellectual type of person (I know that that sounds somewhat oxymoronic) to seek to refine his speech; a language in use is never static.

 

[O_Duirnin]

People, including plenty of Americans, also often like to use vainly God’s name- something that is blasphemous without question while certainly being less disgusting than using the “f-word.” From what I have learned about the French, they seem to generally be rather relaxed about cursing(e.g. using m-e-r-d-e constantly, even as a form of “reverse” luck like “break a limb.”) As one can tell, I myself do not like using the word l-e-g, but I am a bit eccentric.

I’ve come across many people, even Catholics, who seem to regard taking the Lord’s name in vain as being in some way less severe than conventional swearing. I’ll admit that before I started practising again I would do it without even thinking about it. Even now, I still find myself doing it occasionally. Now, I think we should all agree, whatever side of the Atlantic we’re on, that use of the Lord’s name in vain is beyond the pale.

 

[Young_Thinker]

I’ve come across many people, even Catholics, who seem to regard taking the Lord’s name in vain as being in some way less severe than conventional swearing. I’ll admit that before I started practising again I would do it without even thinking about it. Even now, I still find myself doing it occasionally. Now, I think we should all agree, whatever side of the Atlantic we’re on, that use of the Lord’s name in vain is beyond the pale.

All right, but many foul words have atrocious meanings; we cannot forget that. There is also a difference between manners and morality.

 

[Moscati]

I have never heard a priest swear, but I have had absolutely wonderful, devout Catholic professors teaching theology who swore, on occasion, in regular conversation. I think it may be a cultural thing (these men were trained in Britain), like someone else said. In Europe, it’s just not the same thing, and no one thinks twice about it.

I would agree that it’s worse to take God’s name in vain than it is to use a ‘bad’ word. Considering a word “bad” is a matter of culture and language, not absolute morality. Of course we should seek to be polite.

 

[Matt33]

What constitutes swearing? I think we all should be on the same page here. Is what the H swearing? oh C? What culture are we talking about? What about B? Are we just talking about saying the biggies like the comedian said? the ones that you didn’t used to be able to say on television?
I dont necessarily buy the argument of we should never say words here that we wont say in heaven… no one should say abortion or in heaven or war… But that shouldnt stop us…

My opinion is that some swear words are just words…Words with moral nuetrality… heck some are a description of a dog or a persons name… But the Lords name… That is to be kept holy. In public I dont swear but with friends and fam… sometimes colorful language makes the point stick a little harder. As long as you dont get carried away.

 

[jmcrae]

I would agree that it’s worse to take God’s name in vain than it is to use a ‘bad’ word. Considering a word “bad” is a matter of culture and language, not absolute morality. Of course we should seek to be polite.

We should also seek to communicate clearly, by using words that mean what we mean to say.

It might sound eccentric to say something like, “Oh! How dreadfully inconvenient!” rather than using a sharp, short swear word, but in fact, our meaning is to say that whatever just happened is dreadfully inconvenient, whereas, typically, swear words refer to bodily functions that usually have little or nothing to do with the situation at hand.

The exception would be when you have just stepped in something nasty, and then, the use of the name of the nasty thing that you stepped in would, in fact, be perfectly appropriate to the situation.

 

[trustindalord]

1. Learn to break your words into sentences.
2. I’ve told people who annoyed me to “Go to h***!” No fiery crag from the underworld opened up underneath them. I’ve said the s and c words when I’m inconvenienced. The only bad thing that’s happened, already did (hence why I said such words in the first place).
3. Praying doesn’t work for the clinically ill-tempered. Best let anger out (even more if the anger is righteous). Forcing people to have the patience of a saint will only bottle up anger and that is not healthy.
4. Seeing as priests are just one level below saints though, no I don’t think it’s right for them to swear mainly because it doesn’t suit them. It’s the same way it doesn’t suit a gangster rapper to speak in Medieval English. Not all people are called to be priests though.

First i can type however i want to. I used my cell phone and didnt feel like typing it properly. Second i thinks most people have sworn and the thing is though it does say in the book of matthew we are accountable for every idle word spoken wich will either condemn us or aquit us on the day of judgement so i respectably disagree with your view towards the situation. Wich the Bible is considerd the Word of God by the church wich Jesus was the word made flesh. So i cant simply say its not a big deal to watch how u say things also there are various other scriptures in the bible that support what i am saying . Also prayer doesnt work for the ill-tempered because when they are being ill tempered who actually allways prays or has there thought set towards loving God completely the way we should. Plus you said it yourself so you by your own words kinda defeat that pupose because it helps me when i struggle so. Didnt say anything about forcing nothing we should try to be thats all as we are called to love our neighbor the way Christ loves us. Nobody is perfect not even the saints were. Being angry and swearing definately is not healthy especially when its done around children and they pick it up wich makes us accountable. And gangster rap has no reference at all towards a preist swearing. A priest should be aware of the people around him how he presents himself because some people obvisouly are easily offended not to say they are perfect. And the hole roll eyes thing lol made me laugh because i think is childish to write over something of this nature.

 

[Moscati]

We should also seek to communicate clearly, by using words that mean what we mean to say.

It might sound eccentric to say something like, “Oh! How dreadfully inconvenient!” rather than using a sharp, short swear word, but in fact, our meaning is to say that whatever just happened is dreadfully inconvenient, whereas, typically, swear words refer to bodily functions that usually have little or nothing to do with the situation at hand.

The exception would be when you have just stepped in something nasty, and then, the use of the name of the nasty thing that you stepped in would, in fact, be perfectly appropriate to the situation.

Very true.

That is my biggest problem with swear words, honestly–that they become a substitute for actually saying anything. Their overuse annoys me to no end.

There are times when the analogy is quite appropriate, though, and makes the point: “So-and-so’s new book is complete s__.” (My theology prof was referring to Dan Brown, in this instance. )

 

[Lexagmor]

Once a priest said a** in the middle of a homily at a retreat…I was a bit scandalized. Some people laughed, others looked unhappy…I was confused. But I forgave him, hey, we’re all human. I curse from time to time myself (one of my first words was a curse word, thanks to a bad-mouthed uncle), especially when around others who curse (so sad how one can be so easily influenced), but it’s a bad habit I’m trying to quit.

 

[JohnSanzone5]

Very true.

That is my biggest problem with swear words, honestly–that they become a substitute for actually saying anything. Their overuse annoys me to no end.

There are times when the analogy is quite appropriate, though, and makes the point: “So-and-so’s new book is complete s__.” (My theology prof was referring to Dan Brown, in this instance. )

That’s the spirit: if a priest curses, it should AT LEAST be directed at a heretic, apostate, or imbecile. Otherwise its a waste of profanity, in my opinion.

That’s my position.