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Priest being sued over his sermon

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
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I'm surprised that DaveNay didn't post this one :poke: The story, in a nutshell, is about a priest who received a message from a parish member. The message stated: Your sermon stunk.

So what does the Priest do? He plays the message in church and asks the parish for advice. :yum:

I'm not saying the priest should have done that but it sure is funny that he did!


Priest's alleged response to criticism of his homily leaves parishioner so angry he's suing the church and diocese

October 3, 2007
BY STEFANO ESPOSITO Staff Reporte
r

Angel Llavona considered his priest open to honest criticism.

And so after one Sunday mass last year, Llavona telephoned the Crystal Lake priest and left a message that went something like this: Your sermon stunk.

The Rev. Luis Alfredo Rios, a priest at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, then did something equally brazen, Llavona claims. He played the private phone message during Sunday mass and asked his flock, "What should we do? Should we send him to hell or to another parish?"

Now Llavona, who was sitting in church when his message was played, is suing Rios and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockford. Llavona claims in the lawsuit filed this week in McHenry County that he was defamed and suffered "immediate emotional distress, embarrassment and humiliation."

Llavona says the humiliation forced him to change parishes. He is seeking a minimum of $50,000 in damages.

Llavona, a teacher at Maine West High School in Des Plaines, served as a volunteer with the parish's religious education program from September of 2005 to April of 2006.

"Disharmony or disagreement between a priest and his parishioners is always unfortunate," said diocese spokeswoman Penny Wiegert, reading from a statement Tuesday. "We hope that a peaceful solution at St. Thomas the Apostle can be established outside the court."

Rios could not be reached for comment and Llavona, raking leaves outside his Algonquin home, didn't want to discuss the case.

In his lawsuit, Llavona claims he left a phone message on Rios' private parish line one day after the September 24, 2006, mass. At the time, Rios was new to the Crystal Lake Church. The message: "Father Rios, this is Angel Llavona. I attended mass on Sunday and I have seen poor homilies, but yesterday broke all records."

'Oh, I love it'
Llavona then says in his lawsuit that he tried to arrange a meeting with Rios, but the priest refused. Then, Llavona claims, Rios played the phone message on Oct. 1, 2006, during two Sunday mass services. According to Llavona, Rios told the congregation, "This is the person in charge of religious education here last year. That's why it is no surprise to me [that] we had the kind of religious education we had. That's why we didn't get altar boys. What should we do? Should we send him to hell or to another parish?"

One parishioner interviewed this week said she was in church when Rios played Llavona's phone message. She said she had a hard time hearing the message but had only praise for Rios and his abilities as a priest.

"Oh, I love it," Guadalupe Zambrano, 40, said of Rios' preaching. "He always talk strong, like he wants to tell everybody how to love God."

Zambrano said Rios is the kind of priest who encourages parents to take part in their children's religious education and says it's clear that Rios prepares diligently for his sermons. "Everything he says in the homily . . . you get it right away," Zambrano said.



 

dzalphakilo

Banned
In some states, recording a telephone conversation without the permission of both parties is illegal.

Honestly, from the story, the priest sounds like an asshole.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
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Now thats funny!

That is what I thought too!

I know that I have had some disagreements with sermons from time to time, heck one time I grabbed our parish priest on the front step of the church and read him the riot act at the end of mass as everyone in the congregation was walking past us. He had a socialistic position and gave a sermon about how businesses were evil and how they didn't support charity. This in a nation where charity rates are among the highest.

Hey, these guys are just regular guys, they are trying to do a job that is very difficult, and they sometimes screw up. I'm not going to say he didn't have the right to his opinion, but he didn't portray things in a very accurate manner and I was happy to set him straight!

But in that case, he didn't need to play my words during the next mass, everyone heard me loud and clear!
 

dzalphakilo

Banned
The guy left the message on the answering machine. Playback from that is legal.

I stand corrected.

However, the priest had the option to take the "highroad" and only mention the call as from someone within the church.

For the priest to single that one person during his sermon and then play the recording, is in my opinion uncalled for, particularly for a priest.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
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DZ, while I can sit back and think it was funny, I do tend to agree with you that it was not the best course of action!
 

daedong

New member
There is nothing funny about what the priest did. It simply highlights his lack of understanding and compassion towards people.


charity. This in a nation where charity rates are among the highest.

Bob I often hear this comment from Americans on internet forums. I understand it is a myth, It may be an idea that you check this out for its accuracy. A quick look did turn this up, If I had more time to spare I would do a more comprehensive search. http://www.vexen.co.uk/countries/charity.html
It mightbe you may owe an apology to your parish priest.
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Bob I often hear this comment from Americans on internet forums. I understand it is a myth, It may be an idea that you check this out for its accuracy. A quick look did turn this up, If I had more time to spare I would do a more comprehensive search. http://www.vexen.co.uk/countries/charity.html
It mightbe you may owe an apology to your parish priest.
Vin,

The site you linked to has a very narrow view of aid. On the site provided, it states "It doesn't include aid distributed internally from rich countries to themselves".

Lower in the page, it basically disqualifies it's bashing of the USA.
Basically, it says welfare states give more than the US government and the people of the USA give more than their counterparts in other nations.

"By comparing aid as a fraction of Gross National Income (GNI) as the studies on this page has done, you combine the generosity of the government and individuals. Europeans pay higher taxes to their governments, who in turn operate as welfare states, doing much charitable work2. For this reason, European governments always appear more generous in league tables compared to American governments, which is decidedly not a welfare state. American citizens give no less than others, according to The Economist, "the extra percentage point of its GDP that individuals deposit in rattling tins hardly reflects the much lighter taxes they pay"2. American citizens give more, but the government does so much less that the country as a whole looks miserly. It would not be right to blame the citizens for this, but the lack of a socially-minded government."

Not noted anywhere on the page is charity in non-financial terms. Thinking of the Tsunamis that hit the pacific a couple years ago, how do they (or did they at all) put a financial equivalent to apply to this chart for those countries that gave logistic support (e.g. ships, helicopters, medical facilities, shelters, food...)?
 

daedong

New member
Like all statistics they can be twisted and interpreted to suit agendas.
It appears that the more I read the generosity of the USA combining private and public charity is not that great based on GDP.
If I have 20 lollies and only give away 1, I don't consider that as generous as someone that has only 2 and gives away 1.
 
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