AN INISHOWEN parish priest has said he accepts the fact that weekly church sermons can often be ‘dull’ despite the best efforts of local clerics.
Fr. John Walsh said that preaching every Sunday can become ‘onerous’ while parishioners hearing the same priest week in, week out ‘doesn’t help’ either.
The Buncrana cleric’s comments come after a senior Vatican Cardinal blasted priests for becoming ‘grey, dull and flavourless’.
Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, the Vatican’s top cultural official, called on Catholic clerics to inject some ‘scandal’ into their sermons to spice them up and avoid becoming boring.
The 69-year-old Italian Cardinal also praised online social network site Twitter and encouraged priests to make use of it or risk becoming ‘irrelevant’ to the up and coming generation.
Speaking to the Inishowen Independent this week, Fr. John Walsh said the Cardinal made some valid points.
“I can certainly accept that sermons can be dull even if they have been scrupulously researched and prepared. Hearing the same priest week in, week out doesn’t help either. Preaching every Sunday can become onerous and I would accept what the Cardinal has said; he speaks with credibility,” he said.
The Buncrana parish priest, a contender to take over from Dr. Seamus Hegarty as new Bishop of Derry next year, revealed that he begins work on his weekly sermon as early as every Tuesday morning.
He said the Sunday homily remains a crucial part of a cleric’s work.
“The sermon is very important, absolutely. I usually start preparation work on a Tuesday before mulling things over throughout the week. I do try to draw on examples from history or the newspapers. In terms of spicing things up though – that is easier said than done because we have a duty to do that in a way that is truthful,” Fr. Walsh added.
Addressing the issue of priests using social media websites such as Twitter or Facebook, Fr. Walsh said he accepts that priests should try to communicate as effectively as possible.
He is not an advocate of the online forums however.
“I am aware of such sites but I think they invade people’s privacy. It’s horses for courses and those courses aren’t for this particular horse I suppose,” he added with a smile.