Goodbye, Father Joe and Father Mikey and Father Bob...

Are we too chummy with our priests? What does this say about our - or his - view of the priesthood?

Am I the only American Catholic who is embarrassed when I hear my fellow parishioners refer to my parish priest as Father Mikey? Or are there lots of us out there who are similarly uneasy about this casual and -- to me -- impudent custom?

Adoremus has a great article on this subject here.

I was raised this way, that is, to address priests by their last name. I was also raised to address our elders as Mr. or Mrs. Jones, or Smith, or whatever, as a sign of respect. Some still teach their children these type of manners. It would be great if all parents did likewise.