Catholic priest's advice to a fourteen-year-old girl

[chilipeppasbaby]

My character is a fourteen-year-old girl who migrated to Australia with her family from Singapore when she was six. Her family were Hindus way back when, but have been Catholic for generations. She attends a Catholic girls' high school, where she is bullied by other girls for being what they consider overly religious: volunteering to sing a hymn

Comments

[janenx01]

How about Matthew 5:10? Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

[revolve]

I don't think most people would bring up bullying at reconciliation. It's more for confessing sins to the priest than a thing to ask advice during, though I suppose she could.

[matrixrefugee]

Not necessarily: I've talked to priests about things which were bugging me, which weren't necessarily sins. I think quite a few Catholic folks do this as well, since the privacy of confession makes it easier to discuss things that you're having difficulties talking about to anyone. That and the seal of the confessional ensures the priest won't discuss it with anyone else.

[maccaj]

It depends on the priest. I've had priests to whom I can bring up anything (and who will gently delineate sin from problem or emotion, but are happy to discuss anything), priests who will brusquely say "that's not a sin," and redirect me, and I knew one priest who would roar, "that is NOT a sin!" and throw people out of the confessional.

[shadefell]

Maybe it's different in Australia (or because she isn't White and so gets extra teasing, or because every school is different), but I went to Catholic school in the USA and there were a LOT of religious student groups. If the priest is familiar with the school's programs, he might recommend she join one of those groups, if she hasn't already. If she is a member, he might suggest she speak with the teacher who leads the group.

If she's on friendly terms with the priest, especially if she serves as an altar server or a Reader, she might approach him outside of reconciliation. Just ask to speak with him. If your setting involves public confession, that might afford her a bit more privacy (unless you want it public, of course).

[tawnykit]

I second this. I knew a lot of kids growing up who went to Catholics schools, and I attended CCD from kindergarten until Confirmation, and there were a lot of kids who were very enthusiastic about their religion. (Talked about youth group and retreats, plastered their cars with religious bumper stickers, etc.) Even at my public high school, there were groups who met before morning classes, or in the library, or who prayed around the flag. The most I ever witnessed them getting in the way of bullying was a friendly jibe amongst friends. I'm sure bullying does happen, I just never personally witnessed it. I agree with the idea that the priest would probably recommend she join a group at school (though you did say she was part of youth group -- maybe he could recommend that she discuss her feelings with the other kids in the group and see if the same thing is happening to them, how they're feeling, etc

[shadefell]

Yeah, my Catholic experience has involved VERY little Bible quotes outside of Mass and religious classes. I know people who had more conservative Catholic upbringings and there was a little more Bibling, but not much.

[matrixrefugee]

The kind of advice a priest would offer on this situation varies, but I could see most priests being very compassionate and understanding; if he were to cite a particular passage in the Bible, the most likely one would be from the Eight Beatitudes in Christ's sermon on the mount, Matthew 5: 11-12, "Blessed are ye when men revile you and persecute you and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets before you

[maccaj]

It depends very much on the priest

[shadefell]

This sounds really, really spot on.

[penhaligonblue]

This is all spot-on, with the tiny exception of this: anger is an emotion, not a sin. Actually, ira, which some translate as "anger" and others as "wrath" (i.e. severe anger), is indeed a deadly sin. Only a real fire-and-brimstoner would chide a schoolgirl for simple bitterness, though.

[penhaligonblue]

I should clarify that, even if anger is a sin according to Catholic dogma, it's totally plausible for a priest to say the opposite. Catholics tend to be loose with such matters.