Pastors or Priests?

[María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda]

Does anyone else find it strange that the author talks about a pastor when he was raised a Catholic?
I quote: "When I confronted my pastor with this observation he said to me, “most people don’t think that deeply”(p. 3).
I was raised a Catholic too and we refer to religious leaders as Priests or, more commonly, Father.
Did I miss something?

[Maddie Atkinson]

Does anyone else find it strange that the author talks about a pastor when he was raised a Catholic?
I quote: "When I confronted my pastor with this observation he said to me, “most people don’t think that deeply”(p. 3).
I was raised a Catholic too and we refer to religious leaders as Priests or, more commonly, Father.
Did I miss something?

A Father is the same as a priest, who has been ordained to carry out sacraments (which I assume you know is things like the Eucharist or baptisms etc.) and a pastor is someone who is in charge of the whole congregation I believe. I think that's right but don't hold me to it, I'm Church of England, we have vicars !

[K+SQUARE]

To the best of my knowledge, Catholics refer to their as religious leaders as Father or Priest and Catholics do not really accomodate other denominations. I wonder what the author means by the statement.

[Yvonne Monique]

If I refer to my own language, Dutch, the catholics do indeed call their congregation leader pastor ('pastoor'). A pastor is a priest.

[Tangerinehippie1]

It’s all cultural and preferences. They are both supposed to help guide you through God’s word.

[Ahbed Nadir]

I think it depends on the culture the religion is based in. Different cultures have different titles for different positions.

[dianaterrado]

Does anyone else find it strange that the author talks about a pastor when he was raised a Catholic?
I quote: "When I confronted my pastor with this observation he said to me, “most people don’t think that deeply”(p. 3).
I was raised a Catholic too and we refer to religious leaders as Priests or, more commonly, Father.
Did I miss something?

Same here. I was born and raised Catholic and we never referred to them as pastor. It was alwyas priest or Father. I thought I was the only one who was quite confused by this.

[Uche B]

Well, a pastor is a spiritual overseer or a clergyman serving a local church or parish, and a priest falls within this definition. The author may just have been referring to the priest as a pastor.

[María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda]

Does anyone else find it strange that the author talks about a pastor when he was raised a Catholic?
I quote: "When I confronted my pastor with this observation he said to me, “most people don’t think that deeply”(p. 3).
I was raised a Catholic too and we refer to religious leaders as Priests or, more commonly, Father.
Did I miss something?

Same here. I was born and raised Catholic and we never referred to them as pastor. It was alwyas priest or Father. I thought I was the only one who was quite confused by this.

You're not the only one! It baffled me. But maybe it was an editing mistake...?

[María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda]

To the best of my knowledge, Catholics refer to their as religious leaders as Father or Priest and Catholics do not really accomodate other denominations. I wonder what the author means by the statement.

Yes. We do. I mean, I'm not very active at the Church now, but I even attended a Catholic school. So, I wonder, was it intentional? Or an editing mistake'

[María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda]

I think it depends on the culture the religion is based in. Different cultures have different titles for different positions.

I understand. But as far as I know, all Catholics call their leaders "Father" or "Priest". Of course, the words change according to the language, but they mean the same. Pastors are far as I know, are for Protestant churches.

[María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda]

It’s all cultural and preferences. They are both supposed to help guide you through God’s word.

I understand. I don't mean one is better than the other. Not at all. It just baffled me because the author emphasizes a lot that he was raised a Catholic.

[Sarah Nichols 7]

I’ve always known Catholic leaders to be called priests and pastors are in Protestant churches. Not sure of the author’s choice either.

[María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda]

I’ve always known Catholic leaders to be called priests and pastors are in Protestant churches. Not sure of the author’s choice either.

It's the same I thought I knew, but the author clearly states he was raised a Catholic, so it wouldn't be a natural choice to call a religious leader a priest. That's why I wonder if it is intentional and, in that case, what does it mean?

[Mallory Porshnev]

I grew up in the Catholic church, went to Catholic school and everything. I only ever remember referring to the priests as Father or Monseigneur. My Lutheran friends all talked about their pastors all of the time.