Pope Francis, returning to a topic he's addressed before, apparently twice emphasized yesterday that homilies must be kept short, with the time length limited at 8 minutes. He reported also stated that the homilies "must go straight to the heart, cover issues in daily lives and steer clear of over sophisticated subjects".
The Pope is not a parish priest, but it's interesting to note that Pope Francis has not gained a reputation as a really effective communicator as Pope, with some of his critics accusing him of having injected confusion into the life of the faithful through some of his statements, most notably his recent one on blessing. Additionally, it's surprising to see the Pope address homilies, something that's really at the parish level, while at the same time at least one big issue is unaddressed.
I have to agree with the Pope on the length of homilies, and have noted here before that some lawyers imagine juries listening to them as they drone on and one. I'm not inclined, however, to underestimate the ability of modern audiences to grasp difficult topics, and at least again based on the experience of the law, I think current audiences grasp difficult matters more ably than any in history. At least in my view, some existential matters, such as the ultimate nature of men and women, need to be addressed in the West.
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