Catholic World News News Feature
Swiss bishops gain Vatican approval for lay preaching February 16, 2005
The Catholic bishops of Switzerland report that they have obtained Vatican permission for lay people to deliver homilies under some limited circumstances, the Kath.net news service reports.
Returning from their ad limina visits earlier this month, the Swiss bishops told the media that the Vatican had given approval to a document which the Swiss bishops' conference had issued in January, allowing for "pastoral assistants with an appropriate education and preparation" to deliver a sermon at Mass, in order to ease the burden for priests. Although the Swiss bishops emphasized that preaching by lay people should be exceptional, and urged parishes "not to make extensive use of our permission," the policy seemed to clash with Vatican directives stipulating that only a priest or deacon should deliver a homily at Mass.
The Swiss lay group Pro Ecclesia nevertheless saw the bishops' policy statement as an affront to the Holy See, and an attempt to present Rome with a fait accompli before the ad limina visits, which were to take place just two weeks later. Kath.net, a German-language Catholic news service, reported that Pro Ecclesia was confident the Vatican would reject the Swiss policy.
However, on their return from Rome, the Swiss bishops announced that they had received approval for their policy-- with the understanding that lay people would preach only under limited circumstances. Bishop Amadee Grab of Chur, the president of the Swiss bishops' conference, said that the Vatican approval should not be interpreted as violating the norm against lay preachers, but a concession to the shortage of priests. He added that priests should never be required to cede their place to lay people in preaching. Bishop Grab reported that the Swiss prelates' conversations with Vatican officials had been friendly, with no sign of the disagreements that Pro Ecclesia had predicted.
During their ad limina visits the Swiss bishops were not able to meet privately with Pope John Paul II, who was hospitalized.
