- A pastoral visit, or carol, is an important element of the service of the Catholic Church, aimed at getting to know the parishioners and praying together.
- More and more people wonder whether it is obligatory to receive a priest after Christmas carols and whether refusing to do so is a sin.
- Canon law does not impose an obligation to receive a priest after Christmas carols, which means that refusing is not a sin.
- However, refusing to receive a priest after Christmas carols may have consequences, such as problems with obtaining consent for a church wedding or being a godparent – find out why!
Can you refuse to receive a priest after Christmas carols? What does the church say about this?
Their aim is to get to know the parishioners and pray together. Unfortunately, they increasingly resemble a cabaret that has little to do with faith. Priests go around collecting money, and then carefully note down who opened the door and how much money was in the envelope. According to the tradition of the Church, Catholic pastoral visits, i.e. carols, begin just after Christmas and last until the Presentation of the Lord, which falls on February 2.
Not everyone wants to let in. Often, such a decision has nothing to do with faith, and the results have to do with more prosaic things, such as work, responsibilities, or simple dislike for clergy. Is a sin committed in such a situation? Is it an obligation for every Catholic to let a priest in on a pastoral visit? It turns out that the Catholic Church has a clear position on this issue. There are no provisions in canon law regarding the requirement to receive a priest after Christmas carols. This means that a refusal to visit cannot be considered in . However, this does not mean that it does not have any consequences.
What could be the consequences of not receiving the priest after Christmas carols?
The clergy take notes and write down everything. Very often, they are marked not only in which houses they were admitted for a pastoral visit, but also who among the household members was assessed and who was not. It sometimes happens that priests even keep records of who put how much money into the envelope. If you regularly refuse to receive a priest singing Christmas carols, you may have problems in the future in obtaining consent to marry or become a godparent.
