Pope Francis changes the Code of Canon Law to institutionalize what is already permitted in practice: lay access to the service of the Word and the Altar. The Pope explains his decision in a letter to Cardinal Ladaria.
By Vatican News
With a Motu proprio released on Monday, Pope Francis determined that from now on the Lector and Acolyte ministries should be open to women, in a stable and institutionalized form through a specific mandate.
There is nothing new about women preaching the Word of God in liturgical celebrations or serving at the altar as altar servers or as Eucharistic ministers. In many communities around the world, these practices are already authorized by local bishops.
Until now, however, this has happened without a genuine and appropriate institutional mandate, as an exception to what Pope Paul VI had established when he decided in 1972 to maintain that access to these ministries, despite the abolition of the so-called ‘minor orders’ men are conferred, as both were considered to be preparatory to final admission to holy orders.
Now, in the wake of the accolade that has emerged from the last Synod of Bishops, Pope Francis wanted to formalize and institutionalize the presence of women at the altar.
Shared baptism
With the Motu proprio spirit ofAmending the first paragraph of Canon 230 of the Code of Canon Law, Pope Francis therefore establishes that women can have access to these ministries and that this can be recognized through a liturgical act that formally establishes them as such.
Pope Francis specifies that he wished to welcome recommendations that have emerged from various synodal assemblies, writing that “a doctrinal development has been achieved in recent years that has brought to light how certain ministries established by the Church are the basis have the common condition. be baptized and receive the royal priesthood in the sacrament of baptism. ”
The Pope, therefore, invites us to recognize that what is under discussion are lay ministries that are “fundamentally different from the sacred ministry received through the sacrament of ordination.”
The new wording of the canon reads: “Laity of the age and qualifications established by decree of the Episcopal Conference may be admitted to the ministries of lector and acolyte on a stable basis through the prescribed liturgical rite.” The layman specification that qualifies laymen and is present in the Code until today’s amendment has therefore been deprecated.
Part of Vatican II renewal
The Motu proprio is accompanied by a letter addressed to the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Luis Ladaria, in which Pope Francis outlines the theological rationale behind his decision.
The Pope writes that “within the spectrum of renewal outlined by the Second Vatican Council, the urgency today is increasingly felt to rediscover the shared responsibility of all baptized in the Church, and the mission of the laity in some sense. . way.”
And, referring to the synod’s closing document for the pan-Amazon, the Pope notes that “with regard to the entire church, in the variety of situations, it is urgent that ministries for men and women be promoted and imparted … It is the Church of baptized men and women whom we must consolidate in order to promote forms of ministry and above all a sense of the dignity of baptism. “
Lay people and evangelism
In his letter to the Cardinal, after recalling the words of John Paul II that “with regard to sacred ministries, the Church has in no way the capacity to confer priestly ordination to women,” Pope Francis adds that ” with regard to unconsecrated ministries, it is possible, and it seems appropriate today, to overcome this caveat. “
The Pope explains that “in order to enable lay people of both sexes to access the ministries of acolyte and lector, by virtue of their participation in the priesthood of the baptized, consciousness will grow, through a liturgical act (of institution) as well, of the precious contribution that many lay people, including women, have been making for some time to the life and mission of the Church. ”He concludes that“ the decision to grant these offices even to women, which adds stability, public recognition and a mandate on the part of the bishop will make everyone’s participation in the evangelizing work more effective. ”
Mutual cooperation
This provision comes about after extensive theological reflection on these ministries.
In fact, post-conciliar theology has regained the relevance of the ministries of Lector and Acolyte, not only with regard to the consecrated priesthood, but also, and above all, with regard to the priesthood of the baptized.
These ministries are situated within the dynamics of the mutual cooperation that exists between these two priesthoods, and their specific “lay” nature has become increasingly evident in connection with the priesthood exercised by all baptized ones by virtue of their baptism.
This entire article, including the quotes attributed to Pope Francis, is a working translation of the Italian original.