Many Protestants object to the practice of addressing priests as "Father," citing Matthew 23:9.
And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
Is there a respectful way for someone who is not Catholic to address a priest other than calling him "Father"?
Is there a respectful way to address a Catholic priest other than "Father"?
Military clergy, both Catholic or otherwise (Protestant or Jewish) are often called Padre. In Portuguese, priests are called “padre”, which is not the same word for a father, “pai”. As a matter of fact, the Portuguese word “padre” is only used for priests, having no other use. Granted, in archaic Portuguese it was used for father too.
The term Dom, is used for bishops and religious priest of the Benedictine Order.
I know a few religious (Religious Order) priests who are called Brother.
Some priests are called Monsignor, if they have been accorded that title.
Italian priests are called Don.
If you are really uneasy about it, I would imagine that the simple term of Reverend, would be appropriate. Do not think any priest would object to this phrase being employed.
Pope John Paul II as a young priest, asked his young friends to call him ”wujek”, which is Polish for uncle. In this way, the Communists would not know a priest was in the mist of the group and could freely administer the sacraments!
There are also Lutherans who call their pastors "priests" and "fathers." This is especially true in European countries.
Still have to chuckle a little about this as no one feels uneasy about calling the Founding Father of the United States anything else than the Founding Fathers!
Dads do not mind being called father by their children. And professors are still called teachers!
In my country, translated to English, it is very rare to call a priest “Father”. If any special title is being used, “reverend” is most common if combined with a name, or “mister pastor” if no name is used. Deacons are called the same, unfortunately as a deacon cannot be a pastor here.
In Latin the vocative domne (lowercase "d" and lack of "i"), "O lord", is one way to address a priest; Domine (capital "D" and with an "i"), "O Lord", is reserved for God alone.
The domnus here [in asking a priest "Iube, domne, benedicere.", "Deign, lord, to give a blessing."] used is also customary in other cases to distinguish earthly masters from the heavenly Dominus.
The problem with many titles is that they not only designate someone's position, they also indicate a relationship with the person that says the title.
For instance "bishop", "elder", "priest", "senator", "rabbi", "monk", and even "patriarch" should be acceptable to everyone.
But while titles like "father", "milord", "brother", "pope", "abbot", and "monsignor" are fine for members of their own church, many other people would feel uncomfortable using those titles to address someone.
I don't want to address anyone as "my lord" or "father" unless they really are my lord or my father.
Saying "your eminence", "your reverence", or "your highness" provides some distance, acknowledging the position without implying that the position is with respect to oneself.
For references that aren't directly addressing the person, sometimes "the" can be inserted. Saying "the father" or "the pope" merely indicates that you recognize what they are without implying a relationship to oneself.
And if it doesn't feel too awkward, one might even speak directly to someone in the third person.
"Would the Father like another piece of cake?"
"The Monsignor is very amusing tonight."
Here's an analogy: A person who doesn't recognize a US president's election would still address them as "President so-and-so" unless they wanted to be rude about it. In the case "Father so-and-so," the term "Father" is a title bestowed by the Roman Catholic Church, not a personal appellation.
As long as you follow the title with a personal name ("Father Patrick" for example) you are not actually calling the person "Father" but merely using his ecclesiastical title. If one feels conscience-bound to avoid the term, try "Reverend." It's off-putting, but not exactly rude.
Is it not interesting to note that Jesus himself called his Father ' Abba' which roughly translates to Daddy ?In the Liturgy of Catholic Church involving different Rites, wherever there is a reference to the celebrant, he is referred to as The Priest. In fact the vocative noun Father seems to be of recent origin . Catholic priests of Southern India were addressed as Kassieessa in Syriac and Kathanar, root of the latter being unknown. It was only after the arrival of the English that priests started getting addressed as Father . The counterpart word of the local language for 'biological father' is used with a different set of spelling and diction so as to bring in specific identity.
PS: If calling a priest 'Father'is against Mtt 23:9, calling a Bishop 'My Lordship' is also not proper since the First Commandment says " I am the Lord your God.."
