Since the days of the apostles such ministry has been reserved to men, reflecting Christ’s explicit choice of men as apostles. He observed that “from the earliest days of the Church the ministry of Lector, and the ministry of acolyte, has been intimately associated with the service of the divine liturgy, and service of the sacred ministers of the liturgy - deacons, priests and bishops. However, formally instituting women into the ministry of lector in the context of the Mass is altogether a different matter,” noted Donnelly. “Pope Francis’ commissioning of women as lectors might appear unexceptional as women have been proclaiming Sacred Scripture at Mass for decades.
#RITA FERRONE CODE#
The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization also defended Pope Francis’ move, saying that he was building on a “well-established practice in the Church,” which had “confirmed that lay ministries, founded on the sacrament of Baptism, can be entrusted to all the faithful who are suitable, whether male or female, according to what is already implicitly indicated by canon 230 of the Code of Canon Law, which the Pope has modified for the occasion.” A ‘heretical attack’ on the priesthoodīut Deacon Nick Donnelly told LifeSiteNews that such a development under Pope Francis was a “heretical attack” on the priesthood. Meanwhile, liturgist Rita Ferrone told the dissident National Catholic Reporter that women’s ministry was part of the “creative work” desired by Vatican II. “Making them official says something very important about the nature of ministry in the Catholic Church today,” he said. John Baldovin, professor of historical and liturgical theology at Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry, who highlighted the significance of installing women in such ministries. The revolutionary nature of Sunday’s ceremonies was noted by Jesuit Fr. While women have regularly taken public, liturgical roles in the Novus Ordo, such actions have not previously been supported by any official installation. Female ministry defended as part of ‘creative work’ of Vatican II Men and women from South Korea, Pakistan, Ghana, and Italy were installed as Lectors, while laity from Peru, Brazil, Ghana, Poland, Spain, and Italy were made catechists. “When we see proposals of rigidity, let us think immediately: this is an idol, it is not God.
“Whenever we think that finding God means becoming more rigid, with more rules, right things, clear things … it is not the way,” he said. The pontiff also used his homily to warn the new lectors and catechists about his regular topic of “rigidity,” calling it a “perversion” and a “modern pelagianism.” Pope Francis gave the lectors a Bible and the catechists a crucifix, pronouncing the words, “May your ministry always be rooted in a profound life of prayer, built on sound doctrine and animated by true apostolic enthusiasm.”Īt Mass this morning, for the first time since Vatican II, Pope Francis has conferred the ministry of Lector in Church, and for the first time ever women have been instituted in the role. On Sunday - the Sunday of the Word of God, as Francis started calling it in 2019 - the women installed in the ministries of lectors and catechists were told by Pope Francis that they were “called to the important work of serving the Gospel of Jesus, of proclaiming him, so that his consolation, his joy and his liberation can reach everyone.” This was followed by the May 10 apostolic letter “ Antiquum ministerium,” which further drew on texts from Vatican II to establish the lay ministry of catechist for both men and women. The ministries of lector and acolyte have been traditionally reserved to men and were stepping stones on the way to the priesthood before the liturgical upheavals of the Second Vatican Council.īut under Pope Francis’ January 2021 motu proprio “ Spiritus Domini,” Canon Law was changed to allow the liturgical institution of female lectors and acolytes, both of which are minor orders. Six women and two men were installed in the ministry of lector and acolyte on January 23, while three women and five men were installed as catechists. VATICAN CITY ( LifeSiteNews) - Pope Francis has for the first time officially appointed women to the liturgical ministries of catechist and lector during a ceremony in the Vatican, in what has been described as a continuation of Vatican II’s “creative work,” and a “heretical attack” on the priesthood.
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