French bishop orders removal of Blessed Sacrament from tabernacles
February 13, 2015
In response to the desecration of ten parishes since October, including five on February 6-7, the bishop of Bellay-Ars has ordered the Blessed Sacrament removed from the tabernacles of all parish churches and chapels.
The Blessed Sacrament, Bishop Pascal Roland decreed, must be kept in a more secure location, and tabernacle doors must be kept open to indicate that the Eucharist is not present.
The Blessed Sacrament, he added, may be returned to tabernacles temporarily for adoration if a sufficient number of faithful are present.
The “only exception” to the decree is in the case of a “well-secured” metallic tabernacle with a resistant lock.
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Further information:
- Ordonnance Sur Les Tabernacles Paroissiaux (Diocese of Bellay-Ars)
- 5 churches desecrated in French diocese (CWN, 2/10)
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Posted by: Fr. A -
Feb. 13, 2015 6:50 PM ET USA
But EVERY tabernacle is to be "well-secured": "irremovable, ... made of solid and inviolable material that is not transparent, and locked in such a way that the danger of profanation is prevented to the greatest extent possible" (General Instruction of the Roman Missal 314).
