By Fr. Thom Hennen
Question Box
Q. What obedience is owed to one’s parish priest?
A. While it is true that the Church is hierarchical, taking things too far can lead to the abuse of power by parish priests, bishops and even popes, all of whom are subject to the supreme law of Christ. They cannot place themselves above that, even as they strive to justly interpret and apply the laws that govern the Church.
All authority exercised in the Church must be guided by the words of Christ to his first bishops/priests: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave” (Mt 20:25-27).
Clergy do have authority and rights but we can easily forget that we are servants first. One of my favorite titles of the pope is “Servant of the Servants of God,” first used by Pope St. Gregory the Great in the late 6th century. This can be applied, albeit on a smaller scale, for bishops and priests as well.
At the very least, I think the people should show respect and deference to their pastors, especially when it comes to what is rightly within their purview, such as liturgy and administrative decisions at the parish level. If a pastor is asking you to do something that is contrary to Catholic teaching or practice, then you have the right and the duty to disobey. If your pastor is regularly spouting off about his particular political beliefs, you need not accept it as Gospel truth but can respectfully disagree.
Sometimes Father is wrong. When that is the case, then filial correction may be in order. Here we should defer to another principle taught to us by Christ: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church” (Mt 18:15-17a).
In my role as vicar general for the Diocese of Davenport, I often end up being the “Complaint Department” for the diocese. There are other more rewarding aspects of this assignment but a lot of it is dealing with peoples’ concerns — not fun, especially for someone who is, admittedly, a little conflict averse.
Often when following up on a complaint about a priest or parish concern, I will ask the person: “Have you spoken directly to Father about this?” About half the time, the answer is “Well … no.” In that case, I urge the person to start there. Of course, if it is something more egregious, that is another matter and may warrant skipping a few steps. Often, a person feels intimidated about approaching their pastor. In that case, I urge them to bring some others along. If that seems too daunting, then I ask them to at least put their concern in writing and send it to me, so that I have something more to go on when I call or meet with the priest.
When it comes to what the Church calls “matters of prudence,” about which good Catholics may disagree, one is not bound to obedience to their pastor or even the bishop or the pope. As clergy and lay faithful alike, we have to be careful about absolutizing our personal preferences and opinions. In short, obedience is a virtue, but it isn’t blind.
(Father Thom Hennen serves as the pastor of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport and vicar general for the Diocese of Davenport. Send questions to messenger@davenportdiocese.org)
