My Vatican II Pastor
I have had the same pastor at my Catholic church for about twenty years. I have a great relationship with him, and I won’t go to confession with any other priest. But, I call him my Vatican II pastor. He just does some things that don’t seem right to me.
Communion
This is the biggest irritant. He does this thing at communion where he grabs like three hosts at one time and slides them up one at a time from the back of his hand. I asked him about it once and he said the hosts get stuck in his hand. By the way, he didn’t like me asking. It’s distracting, and I don’t think it is very reverent.
Speedy
I don’t think the mass should be long if it doesn’t need to. But, he just speeds through the mass. For example, he almost runs to the bottom of the altar to give communion. Honestly, sometimes I literally run to get there when I’m first in line. After his homily, there is no time for reflection. He stays standing and begins the Profession of Faith immediately. And, I can tell from watching the Music Director that he only allows a verse or two of the songs.
Controversy
In about twenty years, he hasn’t had one homily about a controversial issue like abortion. His homilies are good, but they are kind of generic. I just think he is extremely passive. And, I feel in my heart that the people in the church who donate big money run the church.
School
There is a catholic school at our parish. And, somehow they hire liberal teachers. I rarely, if ever, see any of the teachers at mass. What kind of example is that setting for the kids? He should be helping the principal to vet these teachers better before they are hired. Before you know it, they’ll be grooming the kids in gender ideology instead of church ideology.
Coronavirus
My pastor completely mismanaged the coronavirus pandemic. He held mass in a parking lot like a drive-in movie. And, he shut down the church for over a year. I know this edict came down from the pope and bishop, but he should have had the stones to stand up and keep God’s home open. Some pastors did. My pastor is respected in the diocese and he could have set an example.
The result of closing the church is that a lot of people never returned. Even some people who I know that were weekly attendees. The church is at least half empty now and hardly anybody talks after church. This gives further power to the big donors because so many donors have left.
Then, when the church reopened, the priests cleaned their hands with antiseptic after giving communion on the tongue. It was so distracting from the meaning of communion.
Final Word
I know there is a movement toward the traditional Latin mass in the Catholic church. Pope Francis made this happen by forbidding it. As the “Lost” character John Locke said, “Don’t tell me what I can’t do.” I’m not suggesting that the Latin mass is the answer. The answer I’m suggesting is that my pastor and others like him need to ponder what the mass and the catholic church are all about. And, make some critical changes. God expects better.
