Should you worship where you work?

[catholicanne]

I just started working at a Catholic church but the Father of our church is a VERY liberal Catholic and I feel uncomfortable sitting through his sermons. He preaches in favor of gay marriage, artificial birth control, and abortion. I am a conservative, traditional Catholic and I don’t believe in what he preaches. I love the people I work with and so far the working environment is excellent, I am simply uncomfortable with the priest. Would it be wrong of me to worship elsewhere? When I took the job they knew they were hiring a conservative Catholic and they did tell me they were a liberal church, I guess I didn’t think it would bother me as much as it does. One of our employees worships at another church but that’s only because she lives an hour away and doesn’t want to make that drive on the weekends. Everyone else who works there also worships there.

Kind advice would be welcome.

 

[papaececi]

I would worship elsewhere since the church you work for isn’t following the magisterium of the Church, however, I don’t think it’s a big deal for you to go elsewhere. Why don’t you simply say that you prefer to keep your work and church life separate. If someone presses you, say you prefer getting spiritual advice and confessing to someone other than your boss.

 

[Ophelia23]

I just started working at a Catholic church but the Father of our church is a VERY liberal Catholic and I feel uncomfortable sitting through his sermons. He preaches in favor of gay marriage, artificial birth control, and abortion. I am a conservative, traditional Catholic and I don’t believe in what he preaches. I love the people I work with and so far the working environment is excellent, I am simply uncomfortable with the priest. Would it be wrong of me to worship elsewhere? When I took the job they knew they were hiring a conservative Catholic and they did tell me they were a liberal church, I guess I didn’t think it would bother me as much as it does. One of our employees worships at another church but that’s only because she lives an hour away and doesn’t want to make that drive on the weekends. Everyone else who works there also worships there.

Kind advice would be welcome.

Liberal or not liberal, this isn’t even Cathloic! Have you reported him to the Bishop? Please tell me that you have. A priest is in a position of leading all of the flock to God, not away from Him!!

And by all means, worship someplace else.

 

[anp1215]

Liberal or not liberal, this isn’t even Cathloic! Have you reported him to the Bishop? Please tell me that you have. A priest is in a position of leading all of the flock to God, not away from Him!!

And by all means, worship someplace else.

I agree. This isn’t just a matter of being uncomfortable with the priest, this is a big deal.

 

[EasterJoy]

As a general question, if anything you ought to avoid being a parishioner at the parish at which you work on the staff. You certainly ought to have a confessor different from the priest or priests who is your supervisor at work. Sometimes, it can’t be helped, but the parish staffers I know say that attending a different parish is the ideal, all other things being equal.

IOW, nobody has a reason to question why you choose that, if you do. (They still will, but you’d be on the side of the general practice by going elsewhere.)

 

[PaulfromIowa]

Forget about where you work or attend church. This is much bigger than you. Any Catholic priest who in fact “preaches in favor of gay marriage, artificial birth control, and abortion” is leading people to Hell. You cannot look the other way. You should be writing weekly to the bishop, the papal nuncio in Washington, and to the CDF at the Vatican; and you should be urging anyone else witnessing this to do the same.

 

[Bill_Martin]

The bishop needs to know if a priest is routinely preaching blatantly anti-Catholic stuff.

I would attend Mass somewhere else until he’s gone.

 

[domandcarols]

He preaches in favor of gay marriage, artificial birth control, and abortion. I am a conservative, traditional Catholic and I don’t believe in what he preaches.
Kind advice would be welcome.

How disgusting… Does your bishop know about this!!!

 

[EasterJoy]

The general rule is to talk to a priest himself first before complaining to his bishop about what you heard the priest teach, so he will not hear about his parishioner’s objections from his bishop before he hears any from the parish. If he does not seem in opposition to the teaching of the Church, but claims he was only unclear and seems that he will try to do better in the future, give him that chance. That is only fair; no one deserves to be blind-sided, even when they seem to be doing something they ought to know is out of bounds.

If he defends what you think he said as exactly what he meant or if he says he did not mean that but fails to be more clear in the future, then yes, go directly to the bishop. I know you may be quite certain you know what he meant, but he still deserves the chance to reiterate or retract what he said before you go over his head. If you do need to communicate the problem to the bishop, be as specific as possible concerning what he said, did, or allowed, when he said it, did it, or allowed it, what feedback you gave, and what became of that. Since you work on his staff, also let that be known so that you can be shielded from retribution. What you say may be taken with a grain of salt when that is taken into account, but that is no reason to leave the bishop or his staff in the dark about any such relevant informaiton.

Seriously, though, attend a parish where you are not on the paid staff, even if this clears up.

 

[BusterMartin]

The general rule is to talk to a priest himself first before complaining to his bishop about what you heard the priest teach, so he will not hear about his parishioner’s objections from his bishop before he hears any from the parish. If he does not seem in opposition to the teaching of the Church, but claims he was only unclear and seems that he will try to do better in the future, give him that chance. That is only fair; no one deserves to be blind-sided, even when they seem to be doing something they ought to know is out of bounds.

If he defends what you think he said as exactly what he meant or if he says he did not mean that but fails to be more clear in the future, then yes, go directly to the bishop. I know you may be quite certain you know what he meant, but he still deserves the chance to reiterate or retract what he said before you go over his head. If you do need to communicate the problem to the bishop, be as specific as possible concerning what he said, did, or allowed, when he said it, did it, or allowed it, what feedback you gave, and what became of that. Since you work on his staff, also let that be known so that you can be shielded from retribution. What you say may be taken with a grain of salt when that is taken into account, but that is no reason to leave the bishop or his staff in the dark about any such relevant informaiton.

Seriously, though, attend a parish where you are not on the paid staff, even if this clears up.

This post sums up my thoughts perfectly. I agree!

 

[catholicanne]

I know this will be hard to believe but the archbishop already knows about the priest and has chosen not to do anything about him. The priest is near retirement and I think the archbishop is just waiting it out. Besides, this isn’t the MOST liberal church in the area, if you can believe that. The most liberal church holds protests outside their building and boycotts taking communion. Apparently they will continue to do so until the Vatican approves female priests. The archbishop knows about that parish too yet nothing has been done. I don’t know why.

I thank you very much for your advice. I attended a nice traditional Catholic church before becoming employed at this one and I think I will go back to it for mass.

 

[EasterJoy]

I know this will be hard to believe but the archbishop already knows about the priest and has chosen not to do anything about him. The priest is near retirement and I think the archbishop is just waiting it out. Besides, this isn’t the MOST liberal church in the area, if you can believe that. The most liberal church holds protests outside their building and boycotts taking communion. Apparently they will continue to do so until the Vatican approves female priests. The archbishop knows about that parish too yet nothing has been done. I don’t know why.

I thank you very much for your advice. I attended a nice traditional Catholic church before becoming employed at this one and I think I will go back to it for mass.

Something tells me the pastor at the other church is not holding boycotts outside his own church at the same time he is celebrating Mass on the inside. Even if he were pulling off something akin to such a feat, what is the bishop going to do, have the police come and drag those misguided parishioners off the premises? Close parishes because he doesn’t have enough obedient priests in his diocese to staff all the churches any more? The non-draconian options are not performed in public, and the wheels that bring many of the possible options into motion do not turn swiftly, nor always with predictable results. I do not blame him for hoping the protesters will get tired of their nonsense and, seeing that they are boring the newspapers and still getting no response from the bishop, give up and go home.

Since you are satisfied that the duty to inform the bishop has been performed by someone else, you can be glad you’re not vicar of clergy and go back to attending the parish that you love. I don’t think it would be out of place to add another complaint to the file of the offending priest, but you don’t have to do that if you don’t want to.

Sorry, it is a ratty situation. Hang in there!

 

[Nils]

I know this will be hard to believe but the archbishop already knows about the priest and has chosen not to do anything about him. The priest is near retirement and I think the archbishop is just waiting it out. Besides, this isn’t the MOST liberal church in the area, if you can believe that. The most liberal church holds protests outside their building and boycotts taking communion. Apparently they will continue to do so until the Vatican approves female priests. The archbishop knows about that parish too yet nothing has been done. I don’t know why.

I thank you very much for your advice. I attended a nice traditional Catholic church before becoming employed at this one and I think I will go back to it for mass.

If this is going on, you should go higher up in the hierarchy. I know it is hard, but please do!

 

[catholicanne]

Something tells me the pastor at the other church is not holding boycotts outside his own church at the same time he is celebrating Mass on the inside. Even if he were pulling off something akin to such a feat, what is the bishop going to do, have the police come and drag those misguided parishioners off the premises? Close parishes because he doesn’t have enough obedient priests in his diocese to staff all the churches any more? The non-draconian options are not performed in public, and the wheels that bring many of the possible options into motion do not turn swiftly, nor always with predictable results. I do not blame him for hoping the protesters will get tired of their nonsense and, seeing that they are boring the newspapers and still getting no response from the bishop, give up and go home.

Since you are satisfied that the duty to inform the bishop has been performed by someone else, you can be glad you’re not vicar of clergy and go back to attending the parish that you love. I don’t think it would be out of place to add another complaint to the file of the offending priest, but you don’t have to do that if you don’t want to.

Sorry, it is a ratty situation. Hang in there!

I’m sorry, I realize my post wasn’t clear. No, the priest does not join the protest, just the parishioners do. Actually, to be more specific, just certain female parishioners do. I think they call themselves One Spirit, One Call or something like that.

 

[EasterJoy]

I’m sorry, I realize my post wasn’t clear. No, the priest does not join the protest, just the parishioners do. Actually, to be more specific, just certain female parishioners do. I think they call themselves One Spirit, One Call or something like that.

I shouldn’t have been so flippant…I realized he wasn’t out there protesting. I feared that he did not discourage it, I’ll have to admit that.

A few people with an offended sense of entitlement do not a parish make, that was all I meant to say. We had the “boycott” thing here in Oregon, too. They seem to think they can take over the Church by using Occupy tactics. Unless you’re Henry VIII or a German prince, that doesn’t work. Let’s hope they give up before it comes to that, but so far a real estate take-over isn’t a clear and present danger.

Go to the solid parish that you have access to, and be glad that it is there.

 

[hcmusicguy]

I’ve worked professionally in music ministry in Catholic parishes for the last 4+ years, and my priest in a previous position told me that although staff were encouranged to become parishioners, we were not allowed to go to confession to him, as he had to make contract/employment decisions (which could be influenced by things heard in the confessional). Working in parish ministry, there is an expectation that one will live according to the teachings of the Church, and employment decisions can take this into account. We were allowed to go to the Associate Pastor for Confession–which was great because he was a very spiritual man, and Confession with him was so uplifting!

 

[Joannm]

I make it a rule not to go to confession to a priest I work with, but I happen to live in an area where Catholic Churches are usually less than 2 miles apart.

As far as worshipping in the parish where I am employed, for me that is part and parcel of my job since I do have to be at the parish on Sundays and that is when I am in most contact with the people. It’s also more convenient to go to weekday Mass where I work. I do go to my home parish on my days off. I do support both parishes monetarily by dividing my contributions between both parishes usually giving my home parish a bit more.

 

[Aggies08]

I attend a different church than the one I worship at. I’d say of the Catholics on staff, it’s about 50/50 as far as worshiping there vs. another church. Those who work with components of the Mass tend to attend there, while those of us that are part of the school, or office workers at the parish, may or may not.

 

[ringil]

I just started working at a Catholic church but the Father of our church is a VERY liberal Catholic and I feel uncomfortable sitting through his sermons. He preaches in favor of gay marriage, artificial birth control, and abortion. .

Oh, come on? Are you sure he is doing this?

In my entire life- and I have been to some liturgically liberal parishes- have I heard a Priest explicitly say what you have written.

 

[jmcrae]

Oh, come on? Are you sure he is doing this?

In my entire life- and I have been to some liturgically liberal parishes- have I heard a Priest explicitly say what you have written.

Same here - I have heard certain priests vaguely refer to “equality rights” but I have never heard any priest, regardless of how liberal he was, coming straight out and saying he thinks gay marriage is okay.

Most of the priests I know who consider themselves “liberal” are horrified by the idea of homosexual marriage - they are “liberal” in that they allow women to be readers at Mass and, when no boys are available, permit girls to serve at the Altar. Maybe it’s just because I live in a very conservative area?