closing church door as the mass starts.... react please

This priest is judgemental. He has no compassion or empathy. How dare he close the doors. He is more inclined to lose parishioners. I would not attend the church of such a horrid priest. This really made me angry...priests are supposed to welcome their flock, they should be loving and forgiving. The doors should always be OPEN. The parishioners should all be welcome always!. It is God's house after all.

Our parish church keeps its doors open during mass so anyone can come and go as he pleases. The only things that the priest requires of us is that we come in respectable attire (no spaghetti straps or minis), turn off our cellphones, and keep the children as quiet as possible (parents are asked to take out their kids if they start to cry or whine).

If it's for God, the door should always be open. Discipline should be on the part of the individuals and not in general to affect the worship of God. In the Church of Christ where I belong, we do not close the door. Any latecomer may enter in to participate in the worship services. He is accountable to God. In fact, he may not come at all if that's what he likes. But sometimes there are inevitable factors that should be considered why a person is late. He might have really been trapped in a traffic jam which he has no control at all and so why deny him the opportunity to worship God especially in taking the Lord's Supper which gives life. If a sick brother is visited in the hospital and let him have the Lord's Supper, why should the latecomer be denied of having the Lord's Supper.

Some religion has strict procedures before the starting their worship. They close their doors, they give you an envelope, you have to register your name. Most Catholic do not observe discipline in their worship.

I think he is being too strict, but I actually like the idea. It is very distracting during the mass when people just enter as they like. It only take 1 person to come in late to disturb the rest of the people who actually willing to come in before the mass start. I think maybe your parish priest have this thinking: If you are meeting the president, will they be late? Then why is it that people will be late when meeting God?

There are many churches that close the door, however this does not mean that a person doesn't arrive late, they still do unless the doors are locked, which is something I have never heard of nor would I go to services of such a place as this is risky and dangerous should an emergency arrive. Any idea that shows a lack of tolerance makes me wonder how christian is it to be that judgemental of othrs, to be that critical, I would find it hard to take such a parish priest seriously for obviously he doesn't have a clue at least to my understanding of what christianity is supposed to be. This is my own personal opinion, that a man who does not seem to have the ability to find understanding and tolerance is hardly practicing the teachings of Christ, so to me he is not living a christian life,and has not right to be places as a religious leader or at the very least is not someone I would consider a religious leader, it takes more than wearing the costume to make a man a priest or a woman a nun, it takes having a good heart, do by example it is fine to want people to be on time, it is another thing all together to say to people sorry can't come in if you are late, why because I don't approve of you doing so.

I don't think it is proper. Sometimes things happen for a person to be late to worship that is beyond their control. If Jesus were there I have no doubt in my mind that the doors would be left open as they should be. Just to keep a person from being late is not a good enough reason. He may end up losing some of his people if they are against it enough.