In an August 12 interview with Slovak television personality Adela Vinczeová, Catholic priest Father Adam Štefanec made a series of remarks that have drawn sharp rebuke from conservative commentators. According to a report published by American Thinker, Štefanec said he avoids the word “God” because it “no longer says anything to anyone,” rejected the traditional greeting “Jesus Christ be praised,” questioned the divine nature of Jesus, and called for language that could be used equally by believers and non-believers.
The comments, which first appeared in a Slovak media context, have since become a flashpoint in ongoing debates about the church’s engagement with secular culture. The American Thinker piece, written by Eric Utter and published on August 27, frames Štefanec’s remarks as evidence of deeper institutional drift — what the author calls “salt that has lost its savor,” borrowing a phrase from St. Thérèse of Lisieux.
What the priest actually said
Štefanec, who is described in the piece as “a big proponent of the LGBTQ community,” did not mince words. “I don’t like the word ‘God,'” he said flatly. He added that if God exists, there must be some “universal word” that connects all human beings — “not just active churchgoers or believers” — and suggested “humanity” as one possibility.
The priest also offered a strikingly subjective interpretation of Christian obedience. When asked what it means to live according to what Christ wants, he answered that “the answer is different for each person and different in every period of history. It is constantly changing.” He went on to argue that God’s will is essentially about “being faithful to yourself and living in harmony with yourself,” which he defined as “being authentic, and being human.”
Utter’s response is withering. “Wow. ‘Humanity.’ That’s a new one. Deep thinker,” he writes, and later asks sarcastically whether the faith that early Christians “went to the lions for” has been reduced to a self-help mantra.
A familiar tension in modern Catholicism
Štefanec’s comments sit at the center of a long-running tension within the Catholic Church — between those who see the church’s traditional language and doctrines as timeless anchors, and those who argue that the church must find new ways to speak to a generation that no longer recognizes its vocabulary.
For critics like Utter, the danger is that attempts to make the faith more accessible end up hollowing it out. If “God” is a word that no longer means anything, and if divine will is whatever each person decides it is, then what remains of the church’s teaching authority? Utter’s piece suggests that this approach contributes to what he describes as “the domestic collapse of Christianity and the concurrent rise of socialism, which where the state becomes the god, especially among the young.”
Whether or not one shares that assessment, the broader statistical backdrop is hard to ignore. Utter notes that only 10 percent of the Czech Republic — a traditionally Catholic country — actually practices Catholicism, while 70 percent of the population identifies as non-religious, and 40 percent of those describe themselves as fully atheist.
Language as a battlefield
The controversy over Štefanec’s word choices raises a question that goes beyond any single interview: Is religious language a barrier to faith, or is it precisely the point?
For believers who see the word “God” as irreplaceable — a word that carries the weight of revelation, tradition, and centuries of prayer — the priest’s admission is not a pastoral innovation but a surrender. For others, especially those ministering in deeply secularized societies, the argument runs the other way: if the phrase “Jesus Christ be praised” is met with blank stares or hostility, continuing to use it is not fidelity but stubbornness.
Štefanec’s own framing suggests he sees himself as a bridge-builder. His search for a “universal word” that could be “used equally by believers and non-believers” is an attempt to find common ground in a public square that no longer shares a religious frame of reference. But his critics see that bridge as a one-way street — leading away from the distinctiveness of Christian faith and toward a vague, feel-good humanism.
What it means for the church’s future
The American Thinker piece is not neutral reportage; it is an opinionated intervention in a wider argument. But the underlying facts it reports are remarkable enough on their own. A Catholic priest — someone whose entire vocation is organized around the proclamation of God — publicly declares that he does not like the word “God.” Whether that is a sign of pastoral creativity or institutional collapse depends entirely on one’s view of what the church is for.
Utter closes with a pointed rhetorical jab, noting that Štefanec’s claim that the word “God” no longer says anything to anyone leaves little room for traditional religious greeting. “God help us,” he writes, “Hope I didn’t offend you. Oh wait, I forgot, Father Štefanec says ‘God’ no longer ‘says anything to anyone.’ So, we’re good … right?”
The irony, of course, is that the word still says quite a lot to quite a lot of people — including, evidently, the people who are arguing about whether it should be retired. The question is whether the church’s leaders will listen to those people, or to the cultural winds rather than the ancient Word.
For now, the debate continues with the same urgency it has had for decades, but with a newly specific face: a Slovak priest who would rather say “humanity” than “God,” and the conservative writers who see in that preference a quiet surrender of everything the church has stood for.
Source: www.americanthinker.com — https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/08/catholic-priest-says-he-doesn-t-like-the-word-god/