‘I would like to appeal in a special way to the army’s enlisted men, and in particular to the ranks of the Guardia Nacional and the police – those in the barracks. Brothers: you are part of our own people. You kill your own campesino brothers and sisters. And before an order to kill that a man may give, God’s law must prevail that says: Thou shalt not kill! No soldier is obliged to obey an order against the law of God. No one has to fulfil an immoral law. It is time to take back your consciences and to obey your consciences rather than the orders of sin. The Church, defender of the rights of God, of the law of God, of human dignity, of the person, cannot remain silent before such abomination. We want the government to understand seriously that reforms are worth nothing if they are stained with so much blood. In the name of God, and in the name of this suffering people, whose laments rise to heaven each day more tumultuous, I beg you, I beseech you, I order you in the name of God: Stop the repression!’

These words are from the last Sunday homily of Saint Oscar Romero, preached on 23 March 1980. They were a direct appeal to the armed servants of the Salvadorean state to disobey orders and desist from killing people; for many, an incitement to insurrection and treason. It is generally thought that for Romero’s many opponents this was the ‘last straw’, triggering orders for his assassination; the following day he was shot while saying Mass. If those of us who have the responsibility and privilege of preaching what happened to Romero because of what he said in this powerful homily are an inspiration and a warning. Preaching can be a matter of life and death. In the Catholic tradition preaching is fundamental to what ordained ministry is about; what this should mean is that sometimes we will be called on to say things which are controversial. This realisation is itself open to challenge: for some the idea that doing this will sometimes be necessary is itself threatening. Drawing on nearly 40 years of preaching (nine as an Anglican cleric and 28 years as a Catholic) I offer some bullet points of advice, aware that at times my preaching has been seen as controversial.

• Remember that however controversial you might want to be, your first duty is to God’s word. You are not entitled to ignore the Scriptural readings put before us in the liturgy. This in itself, for Catholics, is going to be controversial because from Advent of this year a new version of the Bible is going to be used at Mass – one for England, Wales and Scotland and a different one for Ireland.[1] If as a preacher you think there are errors or misleading aspects in whatever new translation you are using, then you might need to say so in your homily! This would have been the case too with the Jerusalem Bible version we have been using for over half a century, but it might be controversial. My advice would be that you should remember that you might need to critique a translation, not attack the bishops for their decisions.
• Remember that sometimes illustrative examples, which we are inclined to think are illuminating, can do more harm than good because people remember them rather than the overall point we want to make. A few weeks ago, preaching on the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (and Mark 10:17-30), I said this: ‘If any of the very rich are at Mass anywhere today they hear Jesus say, after the rich young man has left him, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!”’ It was tempting, for very good reasons, to insert after my words ‘the very rich’ some of examples of who such people might be in today’s world (Elon Musk, King Charles III, and so on); but I know that had I done so people would have remembered the specific example rather than the overall point (‘Did you hear Father Ashley attack the king?’)
• Show some love. In Mark 10 we are told that Jesus looks at the rich man, who not described as ‘young’ in Mark’s version, ‘and loved him’ – a detail not found in Matthew or Luke. This is powerful point in the narrative; it’s almost as if the Lord is begging the man not to do what he does (that is, walk away in sadness). But it’s a challenge for us. When we condemn injustice and oppression, particularly if we feel angry at what is going on in the world, it’s easy to be negative towards those we seek to challenge. Jesus loves the man in the Gospel story, but he wants him to repent which is why he makes a very specific request. The personality cults which surround so many populist political movements (as in the past) means that to show love to people whom we are inclined to see almost as Satan incarnate is far from easy.
• Be careful about your passion. I do not think that preaching should be cerebral and anemic, devoid of feeling. Much powerful preaching across the centuries has been effective because of the preacher’s emotional and subjective engagement with his preaching; and much of what has been least effective has been dry and colourless. At the same time, we need balance, and passion in a preacher can be frightening for people; indeed for many in different periods of the Church’s history that was the whole point (look at Amos Starkadder in Stella Gibbons’ wonderful Cold Comfort Farm.[1]). Again, people might simply remember your passion rather than anything else.
• Be careful about time. Pope Francis has said that so many sermons are too long, yet his are longer than those of many of us. If you are in any way controversial this will be more of a problem, as a cutting-edge point can be more effective if it is applied briefly. In many Catholic parishes (though the picture is changing as our culture changes) people are unused to long homilies and they don’t want to get used to them.
• Be careful about party politics. The Roman Catholic Church forbids priests to be members of political parties, and this is for a good reason. For example, if people know that you are a member of a political party (and I know that through such a membership a priest or deacon can reach out to many in the wider community) it is likely that some of them at least will think that you speak for that party rather than their church.
• Know something about your people. Our congregations are much more diverse than in the past, something for which we need to be thankful. So, if you are likely to say something controversial in a homily, if you can show some knowledge of West Africa or South Asia, for example, people may listen more attentively.
• Remember that you might be in a bubble. Many people, whether we like it or not, treat religious faith as a form of escapism. The church is a refuge where they find solace, away from the world and from life’s everyday problems. Moreover, many Catholic parishes have a deeply isolationist culture: the diocese is kept at arm’s length and so is the rest of the Catholic Church; people seldom read Catholic media and are often not encouraged to do by clergy. All this is reinforced by much preaching which caters to an individualistic spirituality, unaffected by the teachings of the Second Vatican Council; this preaching often infantilises people. Therefore, any reference to the life of the country, or to the rest of Europe and the world will be resented by some people, although they may well not tell you! What this means is that your preaching may need to be backed up by other efforts to teach – catechetical groups, talks outside Mass, newsletter pieces and so on.
• Make use of your friends. By and large Catholics do take seriously the teaching authority of the Church, and that gives an important place to what is said by the pope and the bishops. While we should be aware of how far this authority has been damaged in recent years, it still makes a difference. It astounds me that some clergy never refer to the pope in homilies. Pope Francis is one of the most influential people on the planet, and not averse to statements which many find controversial; moreover Catholic bishops often challenge falsehood in ways which some people don’t like – and you would think that clergy would share what they say with those at Mass (examples would be issues such as refugees and asylum seekers, prisons, the two-child benefit cap, assisted dying and nuclear weapons). The preacher is not alone!
• Remember our denominational distinctiveness. Ecumenical cooperation can be a good resource for the preacher. But sometimes we are wary of stressing what is distinctive about our denominational identity, which ought to give us greater confidence. For example, if Catholic preachers talk in homilies about the distinctive character of Catholic schools or Catholic charities, people might recognise that this should make us more assertive in what we say about the society in which we live. Indeed, some other Christians are almost envious of the cohesion of the Catholic community (many years ago a distinguished Anglican priest told me that if a dictatorship ever took over in Britain, he would immediately become a Catholic).
• Drink from your own wells. This phrase, coined by the Salvadorean Liberation theologian Father Jon Sobrino, is about how theological reflection needs to be rooted in authentic spirituality. So, pray about your preaching, not just before you preach but, in the days, when you are preparing your homily. If you are perhaps fearful about saying something controversial, bring this to the Lord in prayer; you might even want to say, ‘let this cup pass from me.’ Let this prayer give you strength and joy.