Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 7—The Southern Cross, October 25, 1973
Vatican Issues Norms for Holy Communion Outside Mass
BY FATHER LEO E. MCFADDEN
VATICAN CITY (NC) - The Vatican
Congregation for Divine Worship made
public Oct. 18 a 68-page booklet in
Latin providing norms for the
distribution of Communion outside
Mass and for devotion to Christ in the
tabernacle.
Msgr. Gilberto Agustoni, a
congregation consultor, said at a
Vatican press conference that the
booklet is not revolutionary but an
attempt to put between covers a
reformulation of the Church’s ritual
regarding the Blessed Sacrament.
The booklet draws heavily from
documents of the Second Vatican
Council, Pope Paul’s 1965 encyclical on
the Eucharist, “Mystery of Faith,” and
the Pope’s 1973 instruction that allows
men or women to distribute
Communion in special cases.
The booklet will fill a vacuum
created by that 1973 instruction, “Of
Immense Charity,” which assigned to
lay dispensers of Communion the ritual
used by priests.
This posed a problem, for the right
to distribute Communion did not
include the right to give a blessing or
indeed to use certain prayers reserved
for priests only.
The new booklet instructs the lay
dispenser to invoke a blessing on all
participants, including himself, and to
sign himself with the Sign of the Cross
during that invocation.
Msgr. Agustoni emphasized that the
new ritual for Communion outside Mass
parallels the elements of Mass leading up
to Communion and dismissal of the
faithful.
Just as in the ritual for Mass, the
distribution of Communion outside
Mass is composed of a penitential
service, scripture readings, recitation of
the Our Father, the handshake of peace,
and, after Communion, a parting prayer
and final blessing.
In his 1965 encyclical, Mystery of
Faith, Pope Paul came down hard on
those who question the defined doctrine
of the Church on transubstantiation, or
the changing of the bread and wine
during Mass into the real Body and
Blood of Christ.
Citing that encyclical, the booklet
declares in its preface:
“In the celebration of Mass . . . the
whole and entire Christ, God and man, is
present substantially and entirely in the
sacrament of the Eucharist.”
Because the Church believes that
Christ is present in the consecrated
bread, the booklet emphasizes that the
place where the Eucharist is reserved
should be “a fitting place and one
suitable for fostering recollection,”
where Catholics may find “silent and
peaceful surroundings.”
As has been the custom with other
liturgical changes, such as in the Mass,
the congregation included in the
booklet optional prayers or optional
scriptural readings for use in the
ceremony of distribution of
Communion outside Mass.
The minister can read the texts of
the Mass in honor of the Blessed
Sacrament, the Mass of the Precious
Blood or the Sacred Heart, as well as
many others listed.
In addition, the minister can choose
readings from scripture that are more
applicable to the occasion, such as
bringing Communion to the sick.
The minister has the option as well as
to follow a shorter form in distributing
Communion in which scriptural readings
are replaced by “brief texts of scripture
in which the import is on the Bread of
Life.”
The booklet encourages the use of
benediction of the Blessed Sacrament,
prolonged adoration ceremonies, such as
the familiar Forty Hours’ Devotion, and
the convening of eucharistic congresses.
Norms for Benediction indicate that
the ceremony remains almost the same
as it was. The use of incense, blessing
the people with the Blessed Sacrament
and the singing of familiar hymns such
as “Tantum Ergo,” “Panis Angelicus”
and “O Salutaris Hostia” - all that is
left intact.
The congregation, as it has done
many times before, allows vernacular
commissions sponsored by bishops’
conferences to translate the Latin text
into respective languages and
promulgate those translations as official
texts, once the Vatican has approved
them.
Msgr.^ Agustoni sidestepped the
question of a male reporter at the press
conference who asked, “If a woman can
now go up to the altar with the key to
the tabernacle and distribute
Communion, why not ordain her a
priest?”
The Italian monsignor, replied that
ordination of women is not his special
field.
Rectory
Blessed
“Peace be to this house and to all
who dwell here”. With these words, His
excellency, Bishop Raymond Lessard
marked a significant milestone in the
progress of Saint Frances Cabrini Parish,
Savannah. The occasion was the blessing
of the new Rectory on Middleground
Road, Sunday, September 23rd.
For the many parishioners who had
heard Bishop Lessard celebrate the 11
A.M. mass, it was a fitting climax. “May
the priests who live here always walk in
your Son’s footsteps . . .may they
always welcome Him with the great joy
of Zachaeus . . .bless those who helped
build this house and reward their
generosity.”
Saint Frances Cabrini’s pastor, Fr.
Eamonn o’Riordan, was lavish in his
praise for the preliminary planning of
the new building by his predecessors,
and equally appreciative of the key
people who coordinated the effort.
IN RESOLVING CHURCH DISPUTES
BISHOP RAYMOND W. LESSARD chats with members of St. Frances
Cabrini parish in the living room of the newly constructed rectory after
ceremonies blessing the building.
‘Not-So-Golden’ Years
(continued from Page 1)
can be carried out at the local level.
They are programs which can help to
translate Christian concern into action.
Say the bishops: “The Church
community must seek to build a living
fellowship of believers in which aging
persons will find mutual concern and
respect - a community which reflects
solicitude for the development and
maintenance of social welfare
institutions benefiting the aging, and
interest in the effective operation of
aging-oriented programs under those
institutions consonant with the nature
of man and the sanctity of human
existence.
“The Church community must serve
as an advocate for older persons in
demanding adequate medical care, an
adequate standard of living,
independence, opportunity for social
enrichment, and a chance to
communicate and cooperate with
others. In this it will give witness to its
genuine interest in the aging, and so
affirm the dignity of man and the
richness of his golden years. In this way
it will help to dispel the cultural biases
which undergird so many
life-threatening injustices in our
society.”
There are some of the programs
suggested by the bishops for
implementation at the parish level:
1. The parish, by becoming aware of
local, state and federal agencies and
services geared toward the aging, could
become a vital information center and
referral service for its elderly.
2. The parish could establish car
pools or a volunteer list of telephone
numbers of people who could be
contacted in case of emergency, medical
or otherwise.
3. “Meals on Wheels” programs,
providing one good hot meal a day to
help provide for the nutritional needs of
elderly poor confined to their homes.
4. Telephone reassurance programs. It
is the feeling of abandonment that can
cause so much pain for the aging, a pain
that can be alleviated by the social
contact they receive and extend insofar
as they are able.
5. Provide opportunities for the
elderly to serve themselves by serving
others through such programs as Foster
Grandparents and volunteer work
visiting the sick and bed-ridden in
homes and in hospitals. They could also
be of assistance by providing necessary
services and performing essential chores
for the disabled.
Added to this
suggestion that
list could be
suggcouuu bii<ib psrish religious
education programs keep up-to-date on
any pending local or federal legislation
designed to aid the elderly, and organize
parish-wide support for beneficial
legislation.
Governmental action and increased
concern can attack the worst injustices
befalling the aging, but the basic
problem can be solved only by a
fundamental reordering of the values of
society. The Church community can
and ought to play a key role in
achieving this objective.
Newman Chaplains
(continued from Page 1)
Named to the Newman posts in
Augusta are Fathers Dermot O’Mahony,
Augusta College; Michael Burke, Paine
College; Ronald Madden, Medical
College.
There are three colleges in Albany.
Their Catholic students will be served
by Father Patrick McCarthy.
Father Joseph Stranc has accepted
appointment as Newman Chaplain at
Armstrong State College, Savannah, and
Father Robert Baker, S.M. has accepted
a similar appointment at Brunswick
Junior College.
Two Trinitarian priests, Fathers
Owen Farrell and Hugh Marshall will
serve at Middle Georgia College,
Cochran, and Fort Valley State,
respectively.
Chaplain at Abraham Baldwin College
will be Father Raymond Govern,
O.F.M. Another Franciscan priest,
Father Peter Sheridan is Chaplain at
Georgia Southwestern in Americus.
Named Chaplain at Brewton College,
Mt. Vernon is Father Clement Borchers.
Father Patrick Mangan was appointed
to South Georgia College at Douglas.
Albany Women Meet
St. Teresa’s Parish Council of
Catholic Women held its monthly
meeting at St. Teresa’s School
auditorium, Wednesday evening October
17,1973.
Plans for the “Holiday Auction” on
November 17, 1973 were brought up to
date by Mrs. Keith Burnett, chairman of
the auction. All women of the parish are
asked to participate by donating arts
and crafts articles, baked goods and
white elephant articles. Mrs. William E.
Ellis, refreshment chairman for the
auction, noted that sandwiches, chips,
cakes and colas will be on sale
throughout the auction; proceeds will
be donated to St. Teresa’s “Giant Step”.
Miss Margaret Harrison, president of
the council, announced that the
“Thanksgiving Clothing Drive” has
started and that clean usable clothing
may be left in the closet at the rear of
the church. She asked that all the
clothing be in by Monday, November
26, 1973.
With the business meeting concluded
the program for the evening was the
presentation of the film “Norway, Our
Northern Neighbor”.
Church Historian Urges Tolerance
LOS ANGELES (NC) - The Catholic
Church in the United States will not
survive unless American Catholics face
their “moral obligation” to work out
their differences “in a spirit of tolerance
and understanding,” said Msgr. John
Tracy Ellis in a speech here.
In a lecture, “American Catholics -
What Is the Prospect?” at the Paulist
Fathers’ Christian Studies Forum here,
the expert in American Church history
asserted that “the decline of faith itself”
and the internal “polarization” among
Catholics are the two crucial issues
facing Catholicism today.
As one possible concrete step
towards lessening polarization, Msgr.
Ellis suggested decentralization in the
Church and a change in attitude among
Church authorities.
Msgr. Ellis, who teaches church
history at the Jesuit-run University of
San Francisco, began with an analysis of
American pragmatism, materialism and
inability to deal with history. The
historical striving of American Catholics
to enter the mainstream of American
life evolved in the 20th century, he said,
“to an almost totally uncritical
absorption of all things American in the
lives of Catholics.”
He spoke of America’s “curious
melange of strident materialism and a
lofty moralizing,” and asked whether
Catholics have anything distinctive to
offer “in a society whose tone and spirit
have become all but starkly hedonistic.”
“Amid the encircling darkness,” he
asked, “do they, as a religious
community, stand out as a beacon of
light, so to speak, by reason of their
unity in faith, the strength of their
moral conduct . . .?”
With neither a sense of history nor a
deepened faith, the priest-historian
argued, American Catholics are ill
prepared to live in a world of change
and fashion a destiny for the Church.
“Change,” said Msgr. Ellis, “is a law
of life itself that, save for a few essential
doctrines, does not exempt the Church
any more than it does the state, and
that is why, I suspect, the past decade
has so frequently and insistently heard
quoted Newman’s axiom, “In a higher
world it is otherwise, but here below to
live is to change, and to be perfect is to
have changed often.’”
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MSGR. ELLIS
Turning to the issue of polarization,
Msgr. Ellis declared:
“Second only to the paramount fact
of the decline of faith itself, the
differences that now divide the
Catholics of the United States pose, in
my judgment, the most serious threat to
the Church’s well being and survival.
“No religious group as highly
polarized as American Catholics are at
the present time can endure as a viable
believing community,” he continued.
“Individuals may continue as men and
women of faith, but the believing
body . . . can hardly expect indefinite
survival without a greater degree of
unity than we now possess.”
Speaking from his perspective as one
of the country’s top Church historians,
the 68-year-old priest declared: “If the
once thriving Church of Asia Minor
succumbed over 1,000 years ago to an
outside force represented by the
triumphant Moslems, and the Church of
northern Europe broke apart from
weakness and tension within after
Martin Luther’s revolt of 1517, she
could disintegrate here. Internal
dissension can wreak havoc in the
ecclesiastical realm . . .”
Msgr. Ellis emphasized that there is
an “inevitability of the differences of
opinion in all that lies outside the
relatively limited confines of defined
doctrine.” The differences, he said.
must be faced squarely and cannot be
avoided.
However, he said, in the face of those
divisions “there arises for every
conscientious man and woman a moral
obligation to meet these differences in a
spirit of tolerance and understanding.”
Again drawing from his historical
background, Msgr. Ellis quoted Mhe
words of Archbishop Jo)in Carroll,
America’s first bishop, to a colleague in
the middle of a controversy: “ .. .you
will find by experience, that men may
think very differently even on subjects
interesting to the conduct of religious
affairs, without therefore deserving to
be utterly distrusted.”
“Something of the kind,” said Msgr.
Ellis, “was probably in the minds of the
executive board of the Catholic Biblical
Association when less than a month ago
in a letter to the National Conference of
Catholic Bishops they called attention
to the threats to scholarship in the
ecclesiastical sciences from those who
had impugned their orthodoxy and their
loyalty to the Church’s magisteriiim
[teaching authority].”
Msgr. Ellis called on American
Catholics to take seriously Pope Paul
Vi’s 1975 Holy Year theme of
reconciliation. When he first read of
that theme, he said, “I could not escape
a feeling that it had special
appropriateness for you and me as
Catholics in the United States.”
As a concrete step towards
reconciliation the historian seconded a
recent call for decentralization of
Church structures by Cardinal Bernard
Alfrink of Utrecht, The Netherlands. He
said he agreed with the Cardinal that
much of the reason for polarization
despondency and apathy in the Church
today “is the way in which authority is
exercised in the Church.” ' . ?
“The candid statement of informed
and carefully weighed opinions such as
those of the cardinal archbishop of
Utrecht on the need for a collegial
approach, for decentralization within
ecclesiastical structures, and for a
changed mentality on the part of those
who occupy posts of authority,
constitutes, I think, a positive and
constructive step in the direction of
recapturing some degree of harmony
within Catholic ranks,” said Msgr. Ellis.
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