Vatican rejects German plans for laity to preach or baptise

Monday, April 3rd, 2023

The Vatican’s liturgy czar has intervened to stop the German Synodal Way’s resolution calling for laypeople to baptise and preach homilies during Mass in Germany.

In a letter to the German Bishops’ Conference president dated March 29, Cardinal Arthur Roche (pictured) said neither was possible — despite at least one German diocese already announcing both practices.

The written intervention by the Vatican’s prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments was addressed to Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, reported CNA Deutsch who has obtained a copy of the document.

The seven-page letter Bishop Georg Bätzing also reminded the German bishops that liturgical translations must be confirmed and approved by the Vatican.

On the issue of homilies, Roche wrote that the reason why laypeople cannot regularly preach at Mass is not due to their need for “better theological preparation or better communication skills.”

He stressed that this did not mean there were inequalities among baptised Catholics, but rather “that there are discernments made by the Spirit, which produces different charisms that are different and complementary.”

Cardinal rejects laypeople conducting baptisms

The cardinal also rejected the introduction of laypeople regularly administering baptisms, something already in practice in some German dioceses.

He wrote that justifying this, for example using a lack of priests, for example, was not possible under canon law.

Laypeople could validly perform baptisms only in exceptional circumstances, such as in danger of death or “in painful situations of persecution, but also in mission areas and in other cases of special need,” the cardinal explained.

He said that such conditions “do not seem to exist in any diocese in the area of the German bishops’ conference, based on the data from the papal yearbook on the clergy available.”

Responding to Roche’s communication, a spokesperson for the German Bishops’ Conference on Thursday said the bishops would continue to seek dialogue with Rome on these issues.

A spokeswoman for the powerful lay Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) told katholisch.de that the Vatican letter was a welcome sign of Rome’s interest in the consequences of the synodal way in Germany.

“Talks in Rome are overdue and are in the heartfelt interest of Catholic civil society in this country,” said Britta Baas.

She added: “In just a few years, no one will be able to seriously oppose lay sermons and baptisms by lay people if the Church still wants to have meaning for the local people. We already have a glaring shortage of priests.”