The adaptations include new roles for lay leaders and cultural expressions during worship, reflecting the traditions of local Indigenous communities.

According to a decree issued by Cardinal Arthur Roche, the Dicastery for Divine Worship granted formal recognition for these changes on 8 November.

However, the Vatican is reviewing broader use for all Mexican Indigenous groups and considering variations for different communities.

Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel praised the Vatican's approval: "It is the official recognition of the Church that these adaptations are recognised as valid and legitimate.

"They are the liturgy of the Church, not just customs and traditions that are viewed with suspicion".

Approved Adaptations

The approved adaptations emphasise Indigenous traditions while maintaining the theological integrity of the Roman rite. Community-selected leaders, known as "Principals", will guide communal prayers during Mass, fostering greater participation.

Additionally, post-Communion thanksgiving may now include rhythmic movements, enabling worshippers to express their faith in culturally meaningful ways.

The cardinal explained that ritual dances were approved for the offertory, the prayers of the faithful and the thanksgiving after Communion.

He pointed out that these "are not folklore but simple movements of the entire assembly - monotone, contemplative, accompanied by traditional music - which express the same thing as the Roman rite but in a different cultural form".

Another approved point is that women can now serve as thurifers during Mass. After the priest blesses the incense, they can incense the altar, images, Gospel book, ministers and assembly.

Using culturally specific incense, this practice reflects Indigenous customs where women traditionally perform this role, not as a feminist demand but as part of their spiritual heritage.

Making a culture

With over 23 million Indigenous people in Mexico representing 62 languages, the adaptations aim to make the liturgy more inclusive. Cardinal Arizmendi stated, "The content of the mass is not being changed, but the way it is expressed. This is not about destroying the liturgy but making it a culture".

The Vatican's recognition follows decades of advocacy for inculturation as supported by the Second Vatican Council and reiterated by Pope Francis in Querida Amazonia.

It also aligns with global efforts such as Australia's approval of an Aboriginal liturgy earlier this year.

Sources

The Pillar

Catholic News Agency

English Katholisch

CathNews New Zealand

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."

Sources

Catholic News Agency

The Pillar

CathNews New Zealand

Francis reasserted in a new legal decree published Tuesday that the Holy See must approve new celebrations of the old rite by signing off on bishops' decisions to designate additional parish churches for the Latin Mass or to let newly ordained priests celebrate it.

The decree states that the Vatican's liturgy office, headed by British Cardinal Arthur Roche, is responsible for evaluating such requests on behalf of the Holy See and that all requests from bishops must go there.

For weeks, Catholic traditionalist blogs and websites have reported a further crackdown on the old Latin Mass was in the works, following Francis' remarkable decision in 2021 to reimpose restrictions on its celebration that were relaxed in 2007 by then-Pope Benedict XVI.

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