Why are people upset about this?

[Oneofthewomen]

This is what the "APOSTOLIC LETTER IN THE FORM OF MOTU PROPRIO “MISERICORDIA DEI – ON CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE CELEBRATION OF THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE” says:
Footnote 28 refers to this:

Thank you for this, I was not aware of it.

My reaction was to “TheMC” stating that a preist could refuse the sacrament. I am dealing with a situation in where someone was denied a sacrament, and it is a very serious charge.
As I said, I was not aware of this statement, which does indeed say that a preist also has an option, which I am guessing has something to do with the “suspicion” surrounding priests these days.

 

[Nicea325]

We have a new priest, and many people have left our parish. The reasons they give don’t make sense to me, and I suspect it’s because I don’t understand the symbolism of some things. Here’s what people object to: 1. He has a row of candles on the altar, in the front, which people say is wrong. 2. He does the Kyrie in Greek. 3. He often chants the prayers. 4. He restarted the practice of lighting candles for prayer intentions. 5. He won’t do face-to-face confession; he always uses the little rooms.

Many people are saying all these things are wrong. I actually like a lot of them, except for the tiny confessionals. (I’m a little claustrophobic.) I don’t understand why people feel so strongly about them. Can you clarify?

Well they are all wrong for leaving. Those who left have a lot to learn and stop feeding off “my feelings are correct” attitude. Many Catholics are IGNORANT of the Mass…period! Trust me as a Director of Catechetical Ministry I encounter many people who live off ignorance. Thus, it is our job to educate the ignorant.

 

[Soler]

They are not leaving the Church; they are going to another parish.

These changes are a huge topic of discussion at Prayer Shawl meetings. (You hear a lot of strange stuff while you’re sitting there knitting.) When I ask them why those things are wrong they say,“You wouldn’t understand because you weren’t raised Catholic.” I don’t know what that has to do with it.

If these people are older than about 55 then I can guess what they mean:

1. 
   *]What the new priest is doing reminds them of their pre-Vatican II youth.
   *]Anti-authoritarian priests and religious were far less common and vocal prior to Vatican II.
   *]These people have been infected by the anti-authoritarian spirit of the modern age.
   *]Therefore, they associate what the new priest is doing with tyranny.

 

[Sarika]

Convert999, I would love to go to your parish. Thank God for this priest!

 

[GRATEFULONEjim]

Sounds like a nice parish to me. Give the young priest as much support as you can.

 

[jwinch2]

I find myself curious as to whether or not anyone has set up a meeting with the priest and simply asked him about the changes and his reasoning behind them. I would also be curious to know if the priest approached anyone and explained to the parishioners why he is instituting the changes he is. A simple bit of communication might fix the whole darn problem.

 

[TheMc]

Yes! Support him, have him over to dinner, get to know him! Sounds like a great priest!

 

[JRKH]

I find myself curious as to whether or not anyone has set up a meeting with the priest and simply asked him about the changes and his reasoning behind them. I would also be curious to know if the priest approached anyone and explained to the parishioners why he is instituting the changes he is. A simple bit of communication might fix the whole darn problem.

This is a good question.
The OP did say, “I get the impression that social skills don’t come easily to him”.

Peace
James

 

[5Loaves]

If these people are older than about 55 then I can guess what they mean:

1. 
   *]What the new priest is doing reminds them of their pre-Vatican II youth.

1. 
   I had exactly the same thought.
   I’ve many times heard “We got rid of all that…” when anything appears to them to be pre-Vatican II, but is in fact very much retained.
   
   “Kýrie, eléison” is a truly universal part of both the Mass and the Divine Liturgy and as such I think is especially good to use. The Melkite Divine Liturgy I assisted in today was 99% in Arabic, which I do not know. I was grateful they were using the Greek/Kýrie, eléison so I could pray the responses during the litanies.
   
   We have a number of Hebrew words that are universal in both the Mass and the Divine Liturgy-- Amen, Alleluia/Halleluya, Hosannah. The Kýrie is the only Greek that is maintained all these centuries East and West.

 

[GRATEFULONEjim]

We sing the Kýrie, eléison in Greek, the Agnus Dei in Latin, and Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus in Latin at every Mass. I believe there was a statement issued wanting the priests to bring this practice back. I just read about it somewhere. I’ll try and find a link to support this.

 

[thequeen]

Doesn’t sound like he is doing anything wrong to me and I know what you mean about being clausterphopic and in that case i would just go to another parish for confession but like you I would like all of these changes except for the confessional.

 

[curlycool89]

My reaction was to “TheMC” stating that a preist could refuse the sacrament. I am dealing with a situation in where someone was denied a sacrament, and it is a very serious charge.
As I said, I was not aware of this statement, which does indeed say that a preist also has an option, which I am guessing has something to do with the “suspicion” surrounding priests these days.

Nobody was denied a Sacrament. The were denied an option which does not have to be offered. There’s a big difference in terminology both morally and legally speaking.

They are still completely free to take part in the Sacrament, just not under their terms. Sacraments are not an “all-about-me” thing. A nearly analogous example is someone saying they were “denied” the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony because the priest wouldn’t do it outside in the rose garden.

 

[TheMc]

Nobody was denied a Sacrament. The were denied an option which does not have to be offered. There’s a big difference in terminology both morally and legally speaking.

They are still completely free to take part in the Sacrament, just not under their terms. Sacraments are not an “all-about-me” thing. A nearly analogous example is someone saying they were “denied” the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony because the priest wouldn’t do it outside in the rose garden.

Or they were denied communion because he wouldn’t put it into the communicant’s shirt pocket instead of tongue.

 

[ClayPots47]

Phemie;7950677 Quoting from the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Text:

The Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts, with the Holy Father’s approval, in a recently-published note, responded affirmatively to the following inquiry by several episcopal conferences regarding confessionals:

“If, according to Canon 964, paragraph 2, of the Code of Canon Law, the minister of the sacrament, for a just cause and excluding cases of necessity, can legitimately decide, even in the eventuality that the penitent ask for the contrary, that sacramental confession be received in a confessional with a fixed grille.”

I would assume that cases of necessity would include the following; the homebound, those with a mental disability which prevents them from using confessionals w/grills, those with physical disabilities that cannot use most confessionals (because they simply are not ADA compatible). After all, these people have a right to the sacrament, and the priest have a duty to provide it. I can only recall seeing one church ADA-friendly. This parish has reconciliation rooms that are spacious, offer the penitent the choice of either face-to-face, or anonymous confession via a grill, and allow mobility equipment such as walkers, wheelchairs and scooters. My last parish has confessional boxes, it’s an old church. I made an appointment to see a priest at the rectory, as I could not use the confessionals.

 

[convert999]

Unfortunately, the priest said during his first homily," I’m going to be making some changes, and if you don’t like them, you’ll just have to get over it." I understand the sentiment, but it wasn’t very diplomatic. I think he feels defensive because of his youth, and that he feels he has to stomp over everybody to be taken seriously. Since many young people in a leadership position feel this way and grow out of it, I expect he will too. I wish more people would just give him the chance. Their reactions only confirm his suspicions.

 

[GRATEFULONEjim]

Unfortunately, the priest said during his first homily," I’m going to be making some changes, and if you don’t like them, you’ll just have to get over it." I understand the sentiment, but it wasn’t very diplomatic. I think he feels defensive because of his youth, and that he feels he has to stomp over everybody to be taken seriously. Since many young people in a leadership position feel this way and grow out of it, I expect he will too. I wish more people would just give him the chance. Their reactions only confirm his suspicions.

The pastor of the parish has the right to change anything he wishes inside his new parish. Did Jesus ask the apostles what they thought about his teachings first? Were the 10 Commandments debatable? No, and no!

 

[jwinch2]

The pastor of the parish has the right to change anything he wishes inside his new parish. Did Jesus ask the apostles what they thought about his teachings first? Were the 10 Commandments debatable? No, and no!

The pastor of the parish is not the Son of God unless he is acting in that exact moment in the person of Christ such as during a sacrament. Furthermore, he is not God the Father giving the 10 commandments to Moses on Mt. Sinai. The priest is not infallible.

If things happened as have been described, the pastor handled the situation poorly. He does have the right to make change, but the people of the parish also have the right to expect, probably after many years of supporting the parish through their work and finances, to be treated with some common courtesy by someone who just got their 5 minutes ago. A wise shepherd leads his flock in such a way that they trust him and wish to follow him.

 

[japhy]

Unfortunately, the priest said during his first homily," I’m going to be making some changes, and if you don’t like them, you’ll just have to get over it."

That doesn’t sound very pastoral. There are better ways this could have been handled by the priest from the outset.

 

[Monica4316]

We have a new priest, and many people have left our parish. The reasons they give don’t make sense to me, and I suspect it’s because I don’t understand the symbolism of some things. Here’s what people object to: 1. He has a row of candles on the altar, in the front, which people say is wrong. 2. He does the Kyrie in Greek. 3. He often chants the prayers. 4. He restarted the practice of lighting candles for prayer intentions. 5. He won’t do face-to-face confession; he always uses the little rooms.

Many people are saying all these things are wrong. I actually like a lot of them, except for the tiny confessionals. (I’m a little claustrophobic.) I don’t understand why people feel so strongly about them. Can you clarify?

none of this seems wrong to me… I don’t know about the row of candles on the altar, but everything else seems good, - including the Greek, chanting, and prayer intention candles. These are all traditional practices. Sounds like an orthodox priest

 

[JRKH]

Unfortunately, the priest said during his first homily," I’m going to be making some changes, and if you don’t like them, you’ll just have to get over it." I understand the sentiment, but it wasn’t very diplomatic. I think he feels defensive because of his youth, and that he feels he has to stomp over everybody to be taken seriously. Since many young people in a leadership position feel this way and grow out of it, I expect he will too. I wish more people would just give him the chance. Their reactions only confirm his suspicions.

OUCH!!
Yep - You were not kidding when you said earlier tha social skills are difficult for him…If that is an exact quote, I can see why some would be upset. That sort of “my way or the highway” attitude is bound to result in some chosing “the highway”.

This an example of poor pastoral care IMHO

Peace
James