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Telegraph
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
‘Parishioners can be awkward, difficult and vicious': Confessions of a clergyman
Dip into the poetry blog Humble Piety, and you find some intriguing clues to the author's life. Fragile Things Break is the title of one recent entry, while another dated July 15, called Slow News Day?, begins 'Waking, a radio talking, confusingly hearing a familiar name, my own name? / Listening again, yes that's me'. Radio was not the only place that Fr Pat Brennan, a Roman Catholic priest, would have found his name that day. It was everywhere in the media, after he published a caustic poem in the newsletter of his church, the Holy Family, Coventry, about his parishioners. Brennan, who was leaving the parish after nine and a half years, railed against tittle-tattle, disapproval, disdainful looks and cliques. His valedictory message began: 'What makes people not come to church? Could it be the people who already go?', he asked while later warning that 'Gossip flows from holy lips'. According to Brennan, when some of the Holy Family congregation hear the words, 'go in peace', 'it's time for war!' Warring over Mozart Churches, both Anglican and Catholic, can often seem more like battlefields than sacred space, with rows, feuds and walkouts about music, style of worship, money, and changes being wrought by newly arrived clergy. At one Catholic church, a new parish priest wanted a musical repertoire of Palestrina, Mozart and Verdi, only to be told by his church's 85-year-old organist that she would stick to the dozen hymns she knew. Feuds over music are not confined to Roman Catholic parishes. One of the most explosive of recent months was the bust-up between the rector and the congregation of St Oswald's, in Malpas, Cheshire, where the Rev Dr Janine Arnott shocked her Church of England congregation by banning individuals from the choir, sacking the chief bellringer, and barricading the belltower with broomsticks in a row which apparently began over Arnott's objections to the choir singing the Agnus Dei, a prayer usually said before Communion, in Latin. While the bells fell silent, the congregation did not, with protests made to the local bishop and flyers complaining about Arnott plastered around Chester Cathedral. Dr Arnott, meanwhile, sought the help of the diocesan legal team, which urged parishioners to back off. Even a Royal family favourite, St Mary Magdalene in Sandringham, is not immune to disputes. Modernising rector, the Rev Paul Williams, has been reported to be at loggerheads with the director of music, Dr Claire Stewart, over hymns and other forms of musical worship – and even the setting up of a social media account. There have been mutterings about getting the bishop involved. Upset parishioners have done what parishioners always do in rows – boycotted the church. They learn about this tactic when still young. One mother told me about a Roman Catholic priest who insisted teenagers should wear their Sunday best at confirmation classes. The parents, used to their stroppy adolescents, argued against him. The teenagers, in torn T-shirts and ripped jeans, then voted with their trainer-clad feet and failed to turn up. 'I have never been in a parish where trouble hasn't happened', says one Catholic adviser to a bishop – but wanting to avoid any more trouble, wished to remain anonymous. 'One was so bad that I suggested we bring in a psychodynamic specialist to mediate between the priest and the parishioners over the running of the parish. 'Quite frankly parishioners can be awkward, difficult and vicious, and they're at their most vicious when it comes to any changes to the liturgy'. Being a priest 'is not an easy vocation' No wonder, then, that Fr Pat Brennan also wrote in his newsletter that being a priest 'is not an easy vocation'. And recently it has got even harder. For as the number of Catholic priests has declined, so those who remain are having to do far more, often running two or even three parishes. Take Fr Brennan. Once, he was just the parish priest of Holy Family, Coventry. But the Archdiocese of Birmingham's plan for parish 'clusters' – a response to having 217 parishes but just 150 priests – meant he was then put in charge of two others. That meant three lots of Sunday Masses and weddings, baptisms and funerals, as well as the repairs, bills and health and safety of three buildings. While Fr Brennan's poem suggests a man at the end of his tether, the Archdiocese of Birmingham says 'the load can be shared'. 'We want priests to work three times smarter, not three times harder', says its spokesman, Deacon Paul O'Connor. But in the Catholic Church, for all the talk of parishioners and deacons doing more, the priest remains ultimately responsible. As Deacon O'Connor admits: 'The buck stops with them. That's the Catholic way'. Sometimes the problems are just down to human nature. Fr Terry Tastard, who has served in several London Roman Catholic parishes, recalls he sometimes lost his temper as a young priest and it took a parishioner to call him out when he upset the man's wife. 'It's so long ago I can't remember what started the argument but I sent a letter of apology', he recalls. 'We don't like to admit to one another that we are struggling' Who might offer a sympathetic ear to a Catholic priest to help him with such troubles, given he doesn't have a wife himself? 'That's a question I've often asked myself,' says Fr Tastard. Another priest said: 'We don't like to admit to one another that we are struggling.' At Oscott, the Birmingham archdiocese's seminary, or training college, for priests, they have come up with a solution: care from a counsellor. Its rector, Fr Michael Dolman, says: 'Priests have to deal with situations that are tense and stressful. They need to talk through their problems. We encourage them after ordination to continue with a counsellor and quite a few do.' The Church of England has opted for other ways of coping with congregation-clergy conflict. In some dioceses, 'interim ministers' – once described in an Anglican handbook as 'a non-anxious presence in the midst of transition, grief and conflict' – have been brought in to troubled parishes. Meanwhile the Diocese of London offers mediation services for parish disputes, promising professional mediators to sort out conflicts. 'Call in the professionals' now seems the answer to what the press can't resist calling unholy rows. And no doubt a lot of prayer.
News18
23-07-2025
- Politics
- News18
Israeli military says Gaza church was struck accidentally
Agency: Last Updated: Jerusalem, Jul 23 (AP) Israeli military on Wednesday said a church in Gaza was struck accidentally. The Holy Family Church in Gaza City was struck last week by an Israeli shell, an attack that killed three, wounded 10 and damaged the church's compound. The military said an internal inquiry found the church was hit after an 'unintentional deviation of munitions." The strike drew condemnation from Pope Leo XIV and US President Donald Trump, and prompted statements of regret from Israel. Holy Family is the only Catholic church in Gaza. Top church leaders from the Holy Land visited the site a day after the incident and said they encountered a Gaza 'almost totally destroyed." (AP) NPK NPK Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
The Hill
22-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Israel's Gaza church strike sparks moral debate. Is it losing support from its strongest US allies?
The Israel Defense Forces struck the only Catholic church in Gaza last week. The compound of the Holy Family, which belongs to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, was hit at 10:20 a.m. local time. Three civilians were killed and nine others injured, including the parish priest. The Patriarchate described the attack plainly: 'the targeting of innocent civilians.' Israel, after a torrent of international criticism including from President Trump, claimed the strike was a mistake. But no public evidence has yet supported that explanation. Churches, of course, are not difficult to identify: cross, steeple, certain features. And no credible account has emerged explaining how this specific target was mistakenly hit. Many argue that the strike may have been an intentional form of retaliation for Christian leaders' recent criticism of Israeli settler violence in a West Bank Christian town. Regardless of intent, this strike is an instantiation of a political turning point. The truth is that Israel overstepped not only the line of military proportionality, but the line that keeps even its staunchest allies — American evangelical conservatives — in its corner. That shift is visible at the top. Even Mike Huckabee, a longtime evangelical ally of Israel and U.S. ambassador to the country, has warned that Israel may be turning openly hostile toward Christians. In a pointed letter to Israel's Interior minister, he threatened visa restrictions on Israel for blocking Christian pilgrims from entering the country. Huckabee's criticism matters not just because of his stature, but that he represents millions of evangelical voters who have historically provided Israel with a powerful base of bipartisan American support. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), too, voted alongside Democrats to strip Israel of $500 million in funding hours after the bombing. Another Mike, Daily Wire commentator and essential Christian Zionist Michael Knowles, reacted to the strike and said: 'You're losing me. When you strike churches and start interfering with American interests… Now we've got a problem.' Support for Israel in the U.S. has long rested on two legs: shared strategic interests and shared moral values. The second of those legs is buckling: not just on the left, but now, visibly, among Israel's own evangelical base. The political backlash already underway clearly shows that Israel's pattern of hostility toward Christians is beginning to carry substantial consequences. Evidently, Israel's gamble with the goodwill of its strongest political base in the U.S. has failed. And there's another reason why striking a church is politically self-defeating: the West may struggle to communicate empathy for Palestinian civilians, but they brought in the beacon of American conservatism: Christianity and the church. I say this not as someone predisposed to condemn Israel. I as a Christian was broadly supportive of Israel in the weeks following Oct. 7. Not out of ideology but because, prudentially, I believed Israel's response to Hamas' attacks was warranted and necessary. But I now firmly believe government of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has crossed the proportionality line with its recent food and aid blockade and relentless bombardment of civilians. Self-evidently, Israel has gone beyond its supposed mission to eliminate Hamas and get the remaining hostages released, and now seem overshadowed by an egregiously destructive military operation. And just as Israel's moral clarity has eroded, so too has the political cover once granted by its most reliable American supporters. When Israel strikes the church in Gaza they lose Michael Knowles. When Israel starts interfering with Christian pilgrims, they lose Mike Huckabee. And if they lose the Huckabee archetype, whom they rely on, then the Israeli government is badly misplaying its hand. In any case, an indefinite war, especially one with such a catastrophic civilian toll, cannot retain public or political support in the U.S. Still, the U.S. remains Israel's closest ally. But that support depends on shared values. If those values begin to diverge, so too will the relationship. William Liang is a writer living in San Francisco. His work has appeared in the Daily Wire, the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Diego Union-Tribune and more.
L'Orient-Le Jour
21-07-2025
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Pope speaks against forced mass displacement of civilians
Pope Leo, whose role in advocating for peace in Gaza has become notably stark since Israel struck the territory's only Catholic church last week, told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday that he opposed any forced displacement of Palestinians. The Vatican said Abbas, who leads the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority, had phoned the pope on Monday, three days after Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called and expressed regret over the strike on Gaza's Holy Family church. Israel has said the strike, which killed three people and wounded the church's parish priest, was a mistake. The small church in Gaza has been a focus of papal advocacy for peace throughout the war in the territory. Pope Leo's predecessor Pope Francis spoke to the parish nightly. In Monday's conversation with Abbas, Leo condemned the "indiscriminate use of force" and any "forced mass displacement" of people in the Gaza Strip, the Vatican said. Israel has said it wants Gazans to move to a special humanitarian zone in Gaza or leave the territory voluntarily. All mainstream Palestinian groups and neighbouring Arab states have rejected any plan that would displace them. In emotional remarks on Sunday after his weekly Angelus prayer, Leo read out the names of those killed at the church in Gaza and called for an end to the "barbarity of war".
Business Recorder
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Pope speaks against forced mass displacement of Gaza civilians
VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo, whose role in advocating for peace in Gaza has become notably stark since Israel struck the territory's only Catholic church last week, told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday that he opposed any forced displacement of Palestinians. The Vatican said Abbas, who leads the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority, had phoned the pope on Monday, three days after Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called and expressed regret over the strike on Gaza's Holy Family church. Israel has said the strike, which killed three people and wounded the church's parish priest, was a mistake. The small church in Gaza has been a focus of papal advocacy for peace throughout the war in the territory. Pope Leo's predecessor Pope Francis spoke to the parish nightly. Gaza civil defence says Israeli fire kills 93 aid seekers In Monday's conversation with Abbas, Leo condemned the 'indiscriminate use of force' and any 'forced mass displacement' of people in the Gaza Strip, the Vatican said. Israel has said it wants Gazans to move to a special humanitarian zone in Gaza or leave the territory voluntarily. All mainstream Palestinian groups and neighbouring Arab states have rejected any plan that would displace them. In emotional remarks on Sunday after his weekly Angelus prayer, Leo read out the names of those killed at the church in Gaza and called for an end to the 'barbarity of war'.
