There are times when I just wonder if some Catholic priests have any idea at all. At the end of yesterday's Mass the priest told us the schedule for the Masses today, a Holy Day of Obligation. The priest moaned about Mass at "cock crow" – 7:30.
What is this man thinking? Doesn't he realize that many Dubliners are either at or well on their way to work by 7:30? Is he expecting sympathy from his parishioners because he has to struggle 20 yards from his house to say Mass at 7:30? There are, after all, only a half dozen Holy Days each year. Surely he'll cope.
Not that long ago I heard a different priest complaining about having to say Mass at 8:45 on a Sunday morning. Huh? Isn't saying Mass on a Sunday morning part of the job spec when you become a priest? What's he doing on a Saturday night that he finds it so hard to make his way to Mass at 8:45 on a Sunday morning?
I think this kind of nonsense can turn off more people than the big scandals. There are times when I just want to shout "Get real!" at the priests.
