“No! Father! That’s what they did to us!” Naval gazing surveys and the priesthood.

So, a priest sent me a “survey” he got in his diocese. I like number 12 above, except that a fourth option of “Never, because it’s useless” is not provided. Lol. It’s good for a laugh, I guess, if it weren’t so sad.

My impression with this kind of request for “sharing” is that it is a distraction from duty both for the obviously useless chanceries with hyper-bloated bureaucracies, wherever they happen to be, bureaucracies which have nothing to do except naval gaze. It’s also a distraction for priests who at least should be way overextended (happily, I might add) in providing the Sacraments to the Lord’s Little Flock who are like sheep without a shepherd. It’s a way NOT to confront real problems in the Church regarding the teaching of proper doctrine and morals. It’s an escape. I would call it a dereliction of duty.

I, for one, don’t have time to assist naval gazers with their inversion naval gazing.

I think we should just about ditch useless administration being paid by parishes to waste time, paid by parishes, mind you, with zero resources because of freakish Covid restrictions.

You want to know what I think? No? Let me tell you anyway: I think priests should just be busy being priests, insisting on dedicating ourselves to Jesus. He’s the One. He’s the only One. Remember Him?

After Mass this past weekend, out in the parking lot, I had begun to mention this naval gazing “survey” to a couple from some 600 miles away, and I was instantly interrupted with: “No! Father! That’s what they did to us at my [secular] job; it’s the same survey.” Then he began to mention other points and they were, in fact, the same. Whiskey, Tango and you know the rest. The plot has been lost.

Here’s the naval gazing that cannot be criticized, ever: