In an apparent direct violation of the Holy See’s prohibition, a lay-woman gave a joint sermon during Mass in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising this week.
Marking the feast of St. Mary Magdalene on Wednesday, the auxiliary bishop of one of Germany’s most populous and prominent archdioceses delivered a “dialogue sermon” with a woman during the feast-day Mass. Bishop Wolfgang Bischof joined with the head of the Archbishop's Women's Commission, Theresia Reischl, to deliver a joint sermon during the liturgy in St. Michael’s church in Munich.
Details shared by the Archdiocese contained a summary of the joint sermon, including a passage from Reischl’s section of the homily on St. Magdalene.
The joint homily appears to directly violate the Holy See’s firm prohibition of lay-people delivering sermons during Mass. As the Catholic Herald first noted, on 24 June the Vatican published details of its response to a request from the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) regarding lay preaching.
The DBK had taken a vote in favour of lay preaching earlier in the spring and thus petitioned the Vatican in March to approve the measure. Per the DBK’s request, lay people would have had the right “in exceptional circumstances” to deliver a homily at Mass.
However the Vatican’s Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (DDW) firmly rejected the proposal and noted that the Church has repeatedly made such a teaching clear.
“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”, wrote the DDW.
As noted by the Vatican, the homily is not just a public platform to deliver some spiritual-themed speech, but is “an integral part of the Liturgy of the Word, is intrinsically linked to the proclamation of the Gospel, and constitutes an exercise of the munus docendi entrusted to ordained ministers through the Sacrament of Holy Orders”.
Canon Law also firmly prohibits any attempt at lay preaching, with Canon 767 §1 reading: “Among the forms of preaching, the homily, which is part of the liturgy itself and is reserved to a priest or deacon, is preeminent; in the homily the mysteries of faith and the norms of Christian life are to be explained from the sacred text during the course of the liturgical year.”
The DDW has not yet responded to a request for comment from The Catholic Herald regarding the Mass in Munich, nor has the Archdiocese.
However, there was no attempt on the part of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising to hide the Mass and the joint sermon, suggesting that officials were not concerned about the implications of the event. Pictures and footage of the event were shared from the official social media accounts and a press release published by the Archdiocese.
Another prominent feature in the Mass was a woman dancing through the central aisle of the church, while members of the congregation bounced large, inflatable balls over each others heads.
This was the mode of celebration for the annual Magdalene Festival, as envisaged by Irmgard Huber, who leads pastoral care for women in the Archdiocese. It has also become part of the campaign for a greater role for women in the Church’s public life, with Huber stating: “All the discussions regarding the question of church offices for women would be superfluous if the outstanding role of Mary Magdalene were finally recognised.”
At the time of the Vatican’s public rejection of the DBK’s request for an indult allowing for lay preaching, the difficulty of enforcing the order was highlighted by The Catholic Herald. In staging a “dialogue sermon” with a lay-woman and a bishop, the DBK will likely argue that it is treading in a grey zone and not directly flouting the Vatican’s ban.
Newly-elected president of the DBK, Bishop Heiner Wilmer, is a keen advocate of the lay preaching movement, and his election was viewed as a message to Rome about the firm intent of the DBK on many issues. His leadership of the DBK will force the Holy See to respond with greater firmness that hitherto seen, else the Vatican risks becoming devoid of real authority.
Michael Haynes is an English journalist in the Holy See Press Corps. He serves as Vatican Correspondent for the Catholic Herald, while readers can follow him at Per Mariam and on X @MLJHaynes.
