(ZENIT News / Seoul, 05.07.2025).- A new survey from South Korea highlights a growing preference among the faithful for brevity, relevance, and clarity in Sunday homilies — echoing concerns long voiced by the late Pope Francis.
Conducted in April by CatholicPoll — a collaboration between Catholic Times and the Archdiocese of Seoul’s digital platform Good News — the survey gathered responses from over 1,350 Catholics on how long a homily should ideally last and what content it should include. Nearly half of all respondents (49%) said ten minutes is the ideal maximum length for a sermon, aligning with Pope Francis’s.
This sentiment isn’t new. In one of his more candid remarks on the subject, Francis once warned priests, “If you go on for more than ten minutes, people will fall asleep.” A year before his death, he even joked that an eight-minute limit might be safer.
But time isn’t the only factor. South Korean Catholics seem equally, if not more, concerned with what’s being said during those precious minutes. The overwhelming majority — 61% — expressed a desire for homilies that interpret society through the lens of Scripture. Another 55% said they want to better understand how the Bible connects with personal faith. While some preferred simple and entertaining messages (17.3%), only a small group (10.9%) was interested in more abstract theological content.
The survey also explored perceptions of the quality and preparation behind the homilies. A slim majority (51%) felt their parish priests dedicate significant time and care to preparing their sermons, while nearly 30% found them adequately done. Still, 12.6% perceived a lack of preparation, and a few even suspected recycled content — 3.9% said their priest seemed to be repeating homilies from previous years.
When asked about impact, 76.6% reported that homilies usually reflect the day’s Gospel and readings, and half said they helped make Scripture more relevant to their lives. Yet for some, the messages didn’t stick. About 12% admitted they don’t remember much afterward, while others noted that priests occasionally drift into unrelated topics or veer into politics.
The data paint a nuanced portrait of a Catholic laity that is engaged, discerning, and hopeful for more meaningful communication from the pulpit. The call isn’t just for shorter sermons — it’s for sermons that speak clearly and concretely to the real-world challenges and questions Catholics face today.
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