Vatican's Head of the Liturgy Dicastery, Cardinal Arthur Roche, Sends Letter to German Bishops Rejecting Certain Aspects of the Synodal Way
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The letter picks up on some issues that were discussed during the ad limina visit by the German bishops in November 2022. DBK spokesman Matthias Kopp told Katholisch.de, "We perceive that the dicastery in the letter describes the current situation on the topics discussed. At the end, there is an invitation to further dialogue, which we are happy to accept. It's good that we're staying in touch with Rome."
Roche refers to the current liturgical law, which only allows clerics to preach at the Eucharistic celebration. "This is not an exclusion of the laity, nor is it, of course, a denial of the right and duty of every baptized person, male or female, to proclaim the Gospel, but rather a confirmation of the specificity of this form of proclamation, which is the homily," Roche said . The prefect sees the danger of the lay sermon that "misunderstandings about the form and identity of the priest arise in the consciousness of the Christian community". It is not a question of creating inequalities between the baptized, but of recognizing "that there are discernments made by the Spirit, which produces different charisms that are different and complementary". so the letter goes on. By virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, the ordained minister is responsible for the proclamation of the word and for thanksgiving over bread and wine: "Word and sacrament are inseparable realities, and in so far as they are not just a formal expression of the exercise of 'sacra potestas' ['spiritual authority'] are, they are neither separable nor can they be delegated." Better theological preparation or the ability of lay people to communicate is not a valid criterion for entrusting them with the homily.
However, lay people could contribute to good preaching in the Eucharistic celebration by "participating in scriptural discussion groups in which the ordained ministers can be enriched by their contribution". Biblical, theological and communicative skills are to be used by lay people in other forms of proclamation and catechesis outside of the liturgical celebration. Roche also points to the opening of liturgical services to women , which Pope Francis decreed in 2021: "This openness offers lay people the opportunity to take on a meaningful liturgical ministry in the exercise of the ministry of lector and acolyte." The prefect was interested in "how this possibility was received in the dioceses in Germany".
In the case of baptismal rites by lay people, Roche refers to the applicable law, which only provides for lay people as permitted ministers of the sacrament in the absence or impediment of a cleric. According to the prefect, this condition is met if a proper baptismal donor cannot be reached within one month. Such circumstances "do not seem to exist in any diocese in the area of the German Bishops' Conference, based on the data from the papal yearbook on the clergy available," adds Roche. Even during the ad limina visit, the German bishops could not have convinced him that there were clear reasons for baptisms to be performed by lay people: "In any case, there were still enough ordained ministers to increase the annual number of baptisms in the German dioceses get over,
Women are already often seen as lectors during Eucharistic celebrations. But they are forbidden from preaching in the Mass – and Rome wants it to remain so.
At its final fifth Synodal Assembly in March, the Synodal Path decided on the action text "Proclamation of the Gospel by Lay People in Word and Sacrament" . In it, the bishops are asked to work out a particular norm, i.e. a church law applicable to the area of the bishops' conference, with which lay people are also officially allowed to preach in the celebration of the Eucharist. A particular norm requires the approval of the Holy See. In addition, a consultation process is to be carried out to review the conditions under which lay people may administer baptism and assist with the sacrament of marriage.
Roche also points out in its letter that the German-language edition of the baptismal liturgy approved by its authorities in 2006 did not include the original Latin section on infant baptism in the absence of a priest or deacon, "because the German Bishops' Conference which are more common in mission countries or countries of recent evangelization, did not take for granted". Therefore, there is no approved German-language rite for the celebration of baptism performed by an extraordinary donor. The ecumenical rite of baptism for children in interdenominational families published by some German dioceses and Protestant regional churches in 2021 was not approved and should therefore not be used.
Another topic of the letter is the translation of the liturgical texts into German. Roche sharpens the principles that liturgical translations must be "faithful and appropriate". Translations therefore have to express the cultural peculiarities of the respective language areas, but at the same time the awareness of the uniqueness of the Roman rite must not be lost: "It's not about creating new and different rites for individual nations, it's about the possibility to offer to live the one Roman rite in the particularity of each Church." In addition to the translated texts approved by the bishops' conference, the bishops should therefore also submit a report to the liturgy dicastery with the application for recognition ("recognitio"), which explains and justifies all adjustments in detail.
The homily by lay people has at least been tolerated in some dioceses for years. In the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, there has been a handout "The Extraordinary Preaching Service of Laity in the Eucharistic Celebration", which was decided by the diocesan council and approved by the then diocesan bishop Walter Kasper, since 1999, on the basis of which lay people preach in the Mass. At the end of 2022, the current Bishop of Rottenburg, Gebhard Fürst, put into effect a decree allowing lay theologians to baptize. In the spring, the dioceseder of Essen had already commissioned the first pastoral and community officers for the baptism . Lay people have been baptizing in the Swiss diocese of Basel for years, since 2019 also in congregations that are not led by lay people. (fxn)
Edited from Source: https://katholisch.de/artikel/44342-synodaler-weg-vatikan-erteilt-taufe-und-predigt-durch-laien-absage
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