What do you call Catholic priests?

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I would call them by their official title or as they direct me or preferred to be called. I actually dont know that I’ve ever had the occasion to address a Catholic priest but I would have no problem calling them ‘Father’. I have no problem referring to the Pope as Holy Father.

I was thinking about the issue of titles myself recently. I realize many Protestants dont consider there to be a special priesthood and so eschew the title of priest. Reverend seems to me a general description for clergy, hence Reverend and Right Reverend. Pastor seems to me to be a description of a specific ministerial function. Thus one who leads a church would be a pastor. Minister seems like a synonym for pastor. Some Protestant Churches may seem to overuse that title but really anyone can minister to others.
 
Father + Name as he prefers to be called. Or if we have been chatting and I’m asked a question, then I’ll often respond with ‘Yes Sir or no Sir’ rather than repeating ‘Yes Father, no Father’ over and over. In writing, always Fr. So and So.
 
I call them “Father”. I mean, that is the correct title.
Of course, I often call John Wesley “Father Wesley”, too.🤷

I have to tell you a little story about my grandmother. She was a devout Holiness Methodist all her life. And she had a friend who was just as devout a Catholic…;)Now if we could just get the rest of the world to behave like those 2 dear women, we would all be set!!
 
In my fundamentalist days I would call a Catholic priest ‘Reverand’, but never ‘Father’. Youth and ignorance presided them. I must have come off as an arrogant fool back then.
Down here in WV pastors are called “preacher”, which from what I have heard was derived from the Church of Christ (we have one on every corner here) and made its way into other churches (mainly Baptist). What is amusing to me is that some would say in such a way it sounds derogatory, almost like a cuss word. :eek: And don’t be within spraying distance when they say it that way. 😃
 
I would call him father, if, for no other reason, than to show him the respect due his station.

We call our ministers reverend.

Peace,

Seeker
 
It’s amazing that many protestants actually call priests “father”!
 
Father.

I used it when speaking to a Catholic priest when I was a Protestant, and afterwards when I converted to Catholicism.

Yours in Christ,
 
I call priests reverand. I would never call him FATHER because that name is reserved for my father and God only!
 
Should have noticed this was a resurrected thread, by a poster likely not familiar with the rules.

GKC
 
tomb11 said:
I call priests reverand. I would never call him FATHER because that name is reserved for my father and God only!
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Who does it say is your father on your birth certificate? You would agree, would you not, that you do have an earthy father? Just as we all have a physical father, we also have a spirtual father to guide us toward our Father in heaven and that is our priest.

If you really are Catholic, you might consider having a talk with your priest or attending some RCIA classes just for the information.
 
While I have personally known only 3 Catholic priests…I addressed them by their first names as they did me…in a public venue, I have no problem addressing them as “Father XYZ” if that is how they wish to be addressed.

Among Friends, we are all on a first name basis…I mean we are Friends.🙂
 
Publisher said:
While I have personally known only 3 Catholic priests…I addressed them by their first names as they did me…in a public venue, I have no problem addressing them as “Father XYZ” if that is how they wish to be addressed.

Among Friends, we are all on a first name basis…I mean we are Friends.🙂
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I am great friends with my priest. We hang out, listen to music, have dinner, watch movies, and just visit. I call him Father. He may be a very good friend but he is still my priest. “Father” is really a term of endearment. He is my spiritual father and so to call him by his first name would be akin to calling my dad by his first name. To call him “dad” means something much deeper than to call him “Bob”. The same thing goes for our priests.
 
SteveVH said:
I am great friends with my priest. We hang out, listen to music, have dinner, watch movies, and just visit. I call him Father. He may be a very good friend but he is still my priest. “Father” is really a term of endearment. He is my spiritual father and so to call him by his first name would be akin to calling my dad by his first name. To call him “dad” means something much deeper than to call him “Bob”. The same thing goes for our priests.
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Since I didn’t consider the priest to be my “spiritual father” but a “friend in Christ”, such a term would not be something I would find that reflects our relationship.

When we first became acquainted I called Mike…“Father Mike” just like everyone else did in his parish…when we became more than acquaintences, I addressed him for a while as “Friend Mike”…he never objected…then as our friendship grew…just “Mike” as we began sharing very very personal information about our lives, thoughts, beliefs, struggles and joys.
 
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