Topic summary
Curé of Ars
Extracted from the Wikipedia article John Vianney.
Curé (priest) of Ars
As parish priest, Vianney realized that the Revolution's aftermath had resulted in religious ignorance and indifference, due to the devastation wrought on the Catholic Church in France. At the time, Sundays in rural areas were spent working in the fields, or dancing and drinking in taverns. Vianney spent time in the confessional and gave homilies against blasphemy and profane dancing. If his parishioners did not give up this dancing, he refused them absolution. His stern sermons were later collected together in the famous "Sermons of the Curé of Ars", along with his moral Catechetical Instructions.