Vatican City, Vatican City. The Vatican on Tuesday reaffirmed that only an ordained priest or deacon may deliver a sermon during a Catholic mass, rejecting a request from German bishops to broaden the practice to women and other laypeople.
Vatican decision
In a release, the Vatican’s Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments said “the current discipline cannot be dispensed from.” The office oversees worship in the Catholic Church, which has 1.4 billion members worldwide.
The Vatican did not publish its full response to the German bishops and issued only a press release summarizing its decision.
German bishops’ request
The German bishops’ conference had asked earlier this year for permission for laypeople to also offer sermons during mass.
The request reflected views expressed by many bishops in the United States and other European countries, who say many laypeople are as capable of preaching as priests. They have also cited a desire to hear sermons from women, who cannot be ordained in the Catholic Church.
Church teaching on the homily
Catholic masses often include a sermon in which a priest or deacon reflects on the day’s Bible readings.
In its release, the Vatican said “the reservation of the homily to a priest or deacons is not a merely disciplinary norm but derives from the very nature of the liturgy.”
The Catholic Church teaches that during mass, a priest acts “in persona Christi” and that God acts through the priest during worship.
Lay preaching outside mass
Laypeople are permitted to give sermons at prayer services held outside of mass.
