VATICAN CITY — The Vatican has rejected a request by the German Bishops' Conference to allow lay faithful, in exceptional circumstances, to preach the homily during the celebration of the Eucharist.
The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments communicated the decision in a letter dated June 17 addressed to Bishop Heiner Wilmer, president of the German Bishops' Conference.
In the letter, released by the Vatican on June 23, the dicastery said it is "not possible to grant the indult requested" on March 30 which would have allowed a duly designated layperson to preach in place of the homily.
Although the dicastery — which oversees most matters related to the Catholic Church's liturgy and the ritual of the sacraments — expressed appreciation for the pastoral motivations behind the request, it emphasized that current norms do not allow for exceptions on this point.
"The reservation of the homily to a priest or deacon is not a merely disciplinary norm, but derives from the very nature of the liturgy," the dicastery said.
The letter noted that the homily "constitutes an integral part of the Liturgy of the Word," is "intrinsically linked to the proclamation of the Gospel," and "represents an exercise of the munus docendi entrusted to ordained ministers through the sacrament of holy orders."
The dicastery also stressed that the "proclamation of the Word within the liturgical celebration is inseparable from the mission received sacramentally and from the unity that links the Word and the Sacrament in the eucharistic celebration."
The letter underlined the need to strengthen the formation of clergy, pointing to "the importance of promoting the ongoing formation of ordained ministers, so that the homily may fully express its pastoral and spiritual efficacy."
Finally, the dicastery recalled that the Church's current discipline already provides other possibilities for lay faithful to preach.
"There are numerous forms of proclamation of the Word and preaching that can be entrusted to the lay faithful outside the homily and outside the celebration of the Eucharist," the dicastery said, noting that such preaching must always be carried out in accordance with canon law and the proper nature of those forms of announcing the Gospel.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
