Twenty-seven preachers and theologians from North America, Europe and Asia have asked the Church to change Canon Law to allow qualified lay preachers to preach the homily at Mass to “reflect a synodal Church more fully”.
In a proposal sent to the US bishops and the Synod of Synodality in Rome, the theologians urged the Church to expand the instituted ministries of Lector and Catechist so that a more extensive range of qualified lay preachers can preach on the Word of God at the Eucharist.
The theologians also proposed that a new ministry of Lay Preachers should be instituted to allow the laity to deliver homilies at Mass. Their proposal was submitted during a synodal symposium titled “The Pastoral Charge for Lay Catholic Eucharistic Preaching in the Catholic Church”.
It was hosted by Father Gregory Heillie, OP, Professor of Preaching and Evangelization and Director of the Doctor of Ministry in Preaching at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis.
“Qualified lay leaders have an increasingly relevant message to share,” he said. “Giving them voice at the Eucharist gives the Church credibility, calls us all to discipleship, and can greatly help clergy at a time of pastoral need.”
During the symposium from 11-14 March, Fr Heillie observed: “When we hear lay leaders in the pulpit, we hear the sound of a 21st century synodal Church.”
The proposal addressed the Church’s urgent need for “more effective proclamation of the Word” which could be achieved through preaching by diverse lay and ordained people “from the centres and the margins”, to reflect the “variety of languages in gender, ethnicity, age, race, social class, sexuality, geography and cultures.”
It said: “We invite a grounding away from the distinction between clergy and laity toward the relationships of community and ministry... If the Church does not make efforts to discern charisms among the baptised, it cannot live fully its synodal identity.”
The symposium consisted of theologians, ecclesiologists, preachers and a canonist and reflected on the principle of “a synodal Church in mission” through the lens of lay Eucharistic preaching with the vision to connect lay preaching at the Eucharist to Synodality and Mission.
Speakers included Dr. Edward P. Hahnenberg from John Carroll University, Ohio, who gave a talk titled “Theology of Ministry for Lay Eucharistic Preaching”, and Dr. Layla Karst from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, who delivered a talk on “Eucharistic Preaching in a Synodal Church”.
The event was sponsored by three Dominican schools of preaching in the United States, Germany and the Philippines.
Loading ...
