US diocese clamps down on lay people giving homilies

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2014

The practice of lay people giving the homily at Mass is coming to an end in a United States diocese, where it had been happening for 40 years.

Bishop Salvatore Matano of Rochester diocese in New York state is drafting guidelines to clarify that homilies at Mass are reserved for the ordained.

Bishop Matano said he is trying to help the faithful in his diocese understand the universal law of the Church.

He has been confronting the issue on a case-by-case basis since his installation in January.

Under his predecessor, Bishop Matthew Clark, Rochester was regarded as one of the most liberal dioceses in the US.

Lay people had preached the homily before Bishop Clark’s time in charge in Rochester from 1979 to 2012.

But during his time leading the diocese, it was a regular occurrence in multiple churches.

Bishop Matano called the widespread nature of the practice “a bit perplexing” and attributed it to a misinterpretation of canon law.

He said he has addressed the matter in response to complaints from parishioners.

An estimated 20 women, most of them pastoral administrators or associates in the diocese with divinity and theology degrees, comprised the bulk of lay homilists.

Many described their preaching as a reflection on the Scriptures, not a homily.

Supporters of lay homilies described them as often being more attuned to modern families than those delivered by priests.

“It was a way to have a woman’s voice and a woman’s experience reflect on the readings for the day,” said Gloria Ulterino, an author and religious scholar who gave reflections in various churches for 30 years.

Bishop Matano acknowledged that many women share pastoral responsibilities with priests and work in many ministries across the diocese.

He said he encourages women and laypeople to preach at prayer groups and other parish functions outside the homily.

The changes in Rochester come as Pope Francis is calling for broader opportunities “for a more incisive female presence in the Church” and for priests to spice up their homilies.

Last year, Francis lamented that clergy and laypeople suffer through homilies: “The laity from having to listen to them, and the clergy from having to preach them!”

Sources