Catholic Replies
Q. Are you aware of any recent changes to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal with regard to “Unity of Posture”? We have had at least one bulletin insert and a mention from the pastor’s column which indicate that we are to stand as soon as Holy Communion is being distributed. We are to remain standing until the last recipient returns to the pew. This sounds too familiar, but does one still have the option to sit or kneel at this time? Does “Unity of Posture” take primacy? Many in attendance are elderly and find it a challenge to stand for the extra 10 to 15 minutes. — M.S., Michigan.
A. No, there are no recent changes in the GIRM regarding the postures of standing, sitting, or kneeling at Mass. According to the 2011 edition of the document, “the faithful kneel after the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) unless the Diocesan Bishop determines otherwise” and, “if appropriate, they may sit or kneel during the period of sacred silence after Communion” (n. 43). The same paragraph says that the faithful can be excused from kneeling during the Eucharistic Prayer “when prevented on occasion by ill health, or for reasons of lack of space, of the large number of people present, or for another reasonable cause.”
Those same reasons would also permit the elderly or infirm to sit while others are standing or kneeling.
Q. Since the misguided Supreme Court decision allowing “same-sex marriage” throughout the country, a number of officials and businesses with Christian beliefs have been fined and threatened for declining to provide services for these events. I have not heard any discussion of a Catholic’s obligations in this regard. What should a Catholic florist, baker, or photographer do when confronted with requests for wedding services for homosexual couples? What should a Catholic county clerk do when asked to issue “marriage” licenses for these individuals? Even if scandal is not an issue, is there a personal moral obligation to resist in the face of likely penalties imposed by government and persecution by certain societal groups? — C.B., Minnesota.
A. Since the Church teaches that same-sex behavior is gravely evil, no Catholic may cooperate in such an evil, anymore than a Catholic can cooperate in the procuring of an abortion. This means that priests or deacons cannot “marry” same-sex couples; Catholic civil officials, i.e., county clerks, judges, or justices of the peace, cannot perform such ceremonies; and Catholic florists, bakers, and photographers cannot provide services for same-sex couples. Taking such a moral stance may result in government penalties, social persecution, and loss of one’s livelihood, but Jesus expects His true disciples to bear these crosses rather than compromise with evil. Pray that those facing such difficult choices will have the courage to resist the temptation to go along with the culture.
Q. In a recent general audience, Pope Francis stated that Catholics who have divorced and been civilly remarried “are not, in fact, excommunicated — they are not excommunicated — and they absolutely must not be treated as if they were.”
Although Pope Francis did not go as far as stating that they could receive Communion, his position is close to that of Cardinal Kasper, that after a period of penitence they could receive Communion even if they persist in the state of adultery. This is contrary to the position of Cardinal Burke and other cardinals who support the traditional teaching of the Church that adultery is a serious sin and that those in this condition cannot receive the Eucharist unless they repent, receive absolution, and amend their lives. Is Pope Francis trying to change Catholic doctrine? — C.G.D., Maryland.
A. No, Pope Francis did not say anything in that general audience that would change Catholic doctrine on prohibiting reception of Holy Communion by those living in a state of adultery. What he did say was that the Church needs to find a way to “care for those who, after the irreversible failure of the matrimonial bond, have undertaken a new union. Such a situation contradicts the Christian sacrament.” He said that the Church must have “the heart of a mother, a heart that, animated by the Holy Spirit, always seeks the good and the salvation of persons.”
The Holy Father noted that the children of such unions suffer the most and asked, “How can we tell these parents to do everything possible to raise their children in the Christian life, giving them the example of a convinced and lived faith, if we keep them at a distance from the life of the community as if they were excommunicated?”
Pope Francis was not breaking any new ground. On October 22, 1977, Pope Paul VI approved removal of the penalty of excommunication on Catholics who, without an annulment, remarry after divorce. The penalty had been imposed on American Catholics at the Council of Baltimore in 1884. Removal of the penalty, however, did not change the objective sinfulness of adultery, nor did it affect one’s worthiness to receive the Holy Eucharist. The reported opinion of Cardinal Kasper remains contrary to the teaching of Christ and His Church.
Q. What are we to think about the Neocatechumenal Way? Is it approved by the Church? — J.W., Massachusetts.
A. The Neocatechumenal Way was founded in Spain in 1964 by Kiko Arguello and Carmen Hernandez to evangelize the poor. It is organized into parish-based communities of 20 to 50 people, claims a worldwide following of more than one million members in 124 nations, has about 2,000 priests, operates some 100 Redemptoris Mater seminaries, sends thousands of families to spread the faith around the world, and has been praised by recent Popes.
In 1990, for example, St. John Paul II recognized the Way “as an itinerary of Catholic formation valid for our society and modern times.” He expressed the wish that the evangelical work of this new movement “may be realized according to the guidelines proposed by its initiators, in the spirit of service to the Ordinary of the place and in communion with him, and in the context of the unity of the particular Church with the universal Church.”
In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI praised them for helping “those who have already been baptized to rediscover the beauty of the life of faith, the joy of being Christian.” And in March 2015, Pope Francis received members of the Way in audience and expressed “my appreciation and my encouragement for the great benefit they bring to the Church. . . . I always say that the Neocatechumenal Way does great good for the Church.”
The Holy Father said that “our meeting today is a missionary commissioning in obedience to what Christ asked us: ‘Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature’ (cf. Mark 16:15). And I am particularly glad that this mission is carried out thanks to Christian families, united in a community, who have the mission to give witness to our faith that attracts people to the beauty of the Gospel. In the words of Christ: ‘This is how all will know that you are my disciples’ (cf. John 13:24), and ‘be one that the world may believe’ (cf. John 17:21).
“These communities, called by the bishops, are formed by a priest and four or five families, with children, including grown-up ones, and are a ‘missio ad gentes’ with a mandate to evangelize non-Christians. Non-Christians who’ve never heard about Jesus Christ and the many non-Christians who’ve forgotten who Jesus Christ was . . . baptized non-Christians but who have forgotten their faith because of secularization, worldliness, and many other things. Reawaken that faith!”
However, the Way is not without controversy as it has been accused of becoming a disruptive faction in parishes by acting contrary to the wishes of the pastor, looking down on those whom they deem not as Catholic as they are, and insisting that their members attend their own services rather than the usual Sunday Masses. The group has also introduced certain novelties into the liturgy, such as lay preaching, standing during the Eucharistic Prayer, receiving Holy Communion while sitting down, and passing the Precious Blood from person to person.
Pope Benedict may have been thinking about these criticisms in 2012 when he said that “the progressive growth in faith of the individual and of the small community should promote their integration into the life of the greater ecclesial community, which finds its ordinary form in the liturgical celebration of the parish, in which and for which the Neocatechumenate is implemented.”
He said that “it is important not to separate oneself from the parish community, and particularly in the celebration of the Eucharist, which is the true place of universal unity, where the Lord embraces us in our various states of spiritual maturity and unites us in the one bread that makes us one body.”
