Vatican Calls on Priests to Limit Sermons to Eight Minutes; Would Deter Sleeping in Church

In what will be welcomed by anyone who has found themselves dozing off in church, the Secretary for the Synod of Bishops, Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, said last week that homilies -- that is, sermons -- should be kept short, pithy, and topical, according to the Telegraph (British) website.

"The homily in general should not go over eight minutes -- the average amount of time for a listener to concentrate," the Croatian-born archbishop said.

Clergy should read newspapers so they can make the Word of God more relevant and contemporary, he added.

"The preacher can write the homily, but at the time of delivery he should use an outline -- a special guide that will allow him to follow a logical line of thought while looking at the faithful," the archbishop said.