Why do some Catholic pastors fail to solve real problems related to the celebration of the liturgy which they have the full authority and resources to

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Exegete

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I truly wonder why some Catholic pastors fail to deal with real problems related to the liturgy which they have they have the full authority and resources to fix? The universal, long-held, catch-all excuse of “they don’t have enough time” is simply not believable in most cases.

I’m not talking about matters of individual preferences. I’m also not talking about overly pedantic technicalities. I’m talking about problems that violate what my folks called “common courtesy.” Easily remedied things (mostly personnel related) that have a real impact on those in the pews. Things that a pagan visitor to Mass would recognize as being wrong – particularly if they had an idea of what Catholics believe.

I’m hesitant to give an example because discussion of that single issue will then become the focus of this thread. I’m seeking insight in general as to why so many Catholic pastors let problems continue to fester, rather than deal with them once and for all?
 
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With all due respect, you and a handful of other posters seem to see “problems” under every bush that the rest of us simply do not see.

Also, if you are not going to give a concrete example, it is impossible to discuss the topic.
 
That’s far too general a question to answer. In general, some possible reasons are:
  1. don’t have time (if you have any idea of a priest’s workload, it certainly is believable)
  2. doesn’t agree with you that it’s a problem
  3. may agree that it’s a problem, but there are others that are more important/urgent
P.S. You’ve already posted this question once. Are you really expecting different answers?
 
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What, you didn’t like the answers the last time?
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Why don't more Catholic pastors solve important issues that are well within their competency and authority to solve? Liturgy and Sacraments
[Sanctuary] I have been thinking and praying about this photo since Ash Wednesday when I took it. Lay ministers treating the Most Blessed Sacrament in repose and the sanctuary of my parish church with indifference or worse. This is not merely a personal preference. It’s objectively unacceptable behavior. I sent my pastor a courteous email with the photo attached, requesting that we please restore the respect and solemnity we once showed the Blessed Sacrament and the sanctuary. He has not re…
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angel12 said:
P.S. You’ve already posted this question once. Are you really expecting different answers?
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There really weren’t any answers last time (except for the “they don’t have the time” excuse of course.) The conversation focused on the example I gave. That’s why I didn’t give one this time.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Also, if you are not going to give a concrete example, it is impossible to discuss the topic.
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Of course it is.

I did give an example last time, and the thread was consumed with discussing the example, and not giving insight into my actual question:
Exegete said:
I’m seeking insight in general as to why so many Catholic pastors let problems continue to fester, rather than deal with them once and for all?
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I truly am curious why some Catholic pastors (in some cases a series of them) fail to solve real problems associated with the celebration of the liturgy?

Similarly I could ask, why do real problems exist for years over a series of Catholic pastors until one finally comes a long and solves it once and for all? I can think of 20 year old problems that were solved with 90 seconds of the new pastor’s time. And they remain solved.
 
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The answer is that Pastors have a bunch of different peoples needs to look out for, not just one, miserable, yet very vocal parishioner who finds fault with anything and everything.

It’s called picking your battles.
 
I have a few priest friends and I sometimes talk to them about this.

A few are pastors and the rest are vicars.

The pastors say the reasons they often don’t change things are typically at least one of the following:
  1. The pastor doesn’t have the backing of the pastoral council
  2. The pastor doesn’t have the backing of the staff or other clergy
  3. The pastor doesn’t have the backing of the majority of the parish
  4. The pastor doesn’t have the backing of the bishop
  5. The pastor doesn’t have the backing of key volunteers
The Vicars often say similar things, except including that they don’t have the backing of the pastor.

Most pastors don’t want to fire their whole staff, or do something where the majority of the pastoral council or parish is never going to leave him alone. And most are surely not going to do something when they feel the Bishop will not have his back. Finally, it’s hard to run a parish without volunteers. A pastor is not going to want to chase away all his key volunteers either.

I’ve personally seen this with priests who love the latin mass. They’ve talk about how difficult it is get their music ministries to use more traditional hymns and how hard it was even to get them to agree to sing Kyrie eleison or learn the Sanctus and/or Aguns Dei in Latin.

Most pastors (even the ones who love the Latin mass) are not going to tell volunteer musicians, “do it my way or I’ll find someone else.” Heck, at my parish we have at least one cantor who will not learn how to sing the Tantum Ergo in Latin. Other have and do, but at least one has not - and he gets paid.

Priests need to pick their battles, and a lot of times it really comes down to the backing he has.

Finally, sometimes priests (and parish staff) often fall into trap of “we tried to change it years ago, it didn’t work.” Because something didn’t work before, or it wasn’t popular with an older generation, doesn’t mean that it won’t be popular with a younger generation. Sometimes balancing generational differences is hard.

I pray this help and God bless
 
Exegete said:
Similarly I could ask, why do real problems exist for years over a series of Catholic pastors until one finally comes a long and solves it once and for all? I can think of 20 year old problems that were solved with 90 seconds of the new pastor’s time. And they remain solved.
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Generational differences. Sometimes older priests will say “I tried to fix that years ago and the people didn’t like it.” So he’s most likely unwilling to try again. However, he fails to recognize a generational change in the parish. So when a new pastor comes in and changes it, it works this time because the people are different.

Pastors, staff members, and key volunteers often fall into this trap. They remember something they tried 10 or 20 years ago and feel it can’t be tried now because it didn’t work then. But they fail to recognize the generational changes.

It’s just human nature.
 
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phil19034 said:
I have a few priest friends and I sometimes talk to them about this.

A few are pastors and the rest are vicars.

The pastors say the reasons they often don’t change things are typically at least one of the following:
  1. The pastor doesn’t have the backing of the pastoral council
  2. The pastor doesn’t have the backing of the staff or other clergy
  3. The pastor doesn’t have the backing of the majority of the parish
  4. The pastor doesn’t have the backing of the bishop
  5. The pastor doesn’t have the backing of key volunteers
The Vicars often say similar things, except including that they don’t have the backing of the pastor.

Most pastors don’t want to fire their whole staff, or do something where the majority of the pastoral council or parish is never going to leave him alone. And most are surely not going to do something when they feel the Bishop will not have his back. Finally, it’s hard to run a parish without volunteers. A pastor is not going to want to chase away all his key volunteers either.

I’ve personally seen this with priests who love the latin mass. They’ve talk about how difficult it is get their music ministries to use more traditional hymns and how hard it was even to get them to agree to sing Kyrie eleison or learn the Sanctus and/or Aguns Dei in Latin.

Most pastors (even the ones who love the Latin mass) are not going to tell volunteer musicians, “do it my way or I’ll find someone else.” Heck, at my parish we have at least one cantor who will not learn how to sing the Tantum Ergo in Latin. Other have and do, but at least one has not - and he gets paid.

Priests need to pick their battles, and a lot of times it really comes down to the backing he has.

Finally, sometimes priests (and parish staff) often fall into trap of “we tried to change it years ago, it didn’t work.” Because something didn’t work before, or it wasn’t popular with an older generation, doesn’t mean that it won’t be popular with a younger generation. Sometimes balancing generational differences is hard.

I pray this help and God bless
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Wow… Food for thought! Thank you! This is the sort of insight I was seeking. Let me ponder this a bit before responding more fully. I really do appreciate your insights and those that counsel you. Thanks again.
 
phil19034 said:
Generational differences. Sometimes older priests will say “I tried to fix that years ago and the people didn’t like it.” So he’s most likely unwilling to try again. However, he fails to recognize a generational change in the parish. So when a new pastor comes in and changes it, it works this time because the people are different.

Pastors, staff members, and key volunteers often fall into this trap. They remember something they tried 10 or 20 years ago and feel it can’t be tried now because it didn’t work then. But they fail to recognize the generational changes.

It’s just human nature.
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More excellent points to ponder. Again, let me think about this a bit more before responding more fully.

The one thing I would like your comments on is “we have ALWAYS done it this way” and the reluctance to change – any change, no matter how much needed.
 
My pastor is 84 years old and does not have the strength to deal with that stuff. With pastors over up to three parishes here we feel blessed to have him at our parish.
 
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