So sometimes I hear complaints that priests are too soft on various tough subjects. They either ignore controversy or water it down so much the message becomes unclear. Today however, I witnessed the opposite. I was attending Mass at St. Teresa's and Fr. Roy began his homily with a joke. But later in his sermon, he started talking about abortion. He said children were being slaughtered, and he was very critical of the Roe v. Wade decision of the United States Supreme Court. He said we must do everything we can to end this.
These were very direct words that you do not hear often from the pulpit. Several weeks back, Fr. Brown from the Latin Mass addressed a similar topic with similar force. This goes to show that priests are not somehow "forbidden" from bringing up tough subjects.
Fr. Roy also addressed pornography and if I recall correctly, drug use. I believe he also mentioned something about inappropriate sexual relations outside of marriage.
Having said all that, there is another issue I have and that is people who want the priest to talk about sins committed by "others". They want sermons on sins they would never commit. Popular topics include homosexuality and abortion. Most of the people who demand such sermons would probably not find themselves involved with these things to begin with. I don't often hear people demanding the priest talk about sins which affect them personally.
I think hard-hitting messages are important. I would like to see priests be very direct and give solid advice which can be used. The primary purpose of this, though, is personal development. It is not an opportunity to condemn others. We should focus on our own spiritual journey and not on looking for specks in other people's eyes.
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