canon law mass

In the face of Father Pro’s excellent example of priestly virtue, I would like to encourage my beloved brothers once again to dedicate themselves fully to Jesus Christ, lived joyfully in celibacy for the kingdom of heaven and in generous service to our brothers, especially the poorest and most abandoned. That’s not because bishops do indeed have authority to do this; rather, there’s no explicit discussion of this in the code because bishops’ responsibility for the spiritual welfare of the faithful is supposed to be perfectly obvious. –Marc, Q3: The Bishop here in Singapore decided to cancel and/or suspend all public Masses indefinitely. Canon 1245 of the Code of Canon Law states: “Without prejudice to the right of diocesan bishops mentioned in Canon 87, for a just cause and according to the prescripts of the diocesan bishop, a pastor can grant in individual cases . Can. If the information on this website has helped you, please consider making a contribution so that it can continue to help others. In accord with the approved practice of the Church, any priest celebrating or concelebrating is permitted to receive an offering to apply the Mass for … Why is Google hiding the posts on this website in its search results? But with the promulgation of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, the rule was broadened even further. Please check the Archives first–it’s likely your question was already addressed. Rest assured that such declarations are utterly unprecedented! For those who do not possess an advanced degree in theology or who have had no previous training in philosophy, 24 graduate credits in theology (8 courses or two semesters) are required, covering (in general) dogmatic theology, ecclesiology, sacramental theology, and moral theology. In accord with the approved practice of the Church, any priest celebrating or concelebrating is permitted to receive an offering to apply the Mass for a specific intention. Not without fear and repugnance, he chose to go to the Island of Molokai to serve the lepers who lived there, abandoned by all. It should be relatively easy to apply all this to the Coronavirus situation. At this point in history, when so many of our priests are being ordered not to celebrate Mass and give Holy Communion to the faithful, there shouldn’t be any need to explain how Blessed Miguel Pro’s life and martyrdom should serve as a model for Catholic clergy today. Readers from all around the world have emailed to ask fundamentally the same question: can a diocesan bishop actually cancel all public Masses, thus actively preventing the faithful from getting to Mass and receiving the sacraments? He invites us to open our eyes to the forms of leprosy that disfigure the humanity of our brethren and still today call for the charity of our presence as servants, beyond that of our generosity. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. There are also some acceptable longer-term reasons for not attending Mass on Sunday. 951 §1. To date, it doesn’t appear that any of them have. As we saw last week in “Can We Be Required to Receive Communion in the Hand, Because of the Virus?” the Catholic Church has taught from time immemorial that lex iniusta non est lex, an unjust law is no law at all—and it should not be obeyed. In these cases there is no theological or canonical problem at all—and there is really nothing new here. “Because I said so” does not constitute justification for violating the law and the rights of the faithful. While the Christian faithful make their offering in the collection basket, sometimes an offering is made for a special intention for the Mass. Can. The canon law of the Catholic Church (Latin: ius canonicum) is the system of laws and legal principles made and enforced by the hierarchical authorities of the Catholic Church to regulate its external organization and government and to order and direct the activities of Catholics toward the mission of the Church. Some may be available in other Bodleian Reading Rooms - but a considerable proportion will be available for readers to request to their choice of Bodleian Reading Room from Closed Stacks. THE CELEBRATION OF THE SACRAMENT; CHAPTER II. (To confer sacraments legally in a diocese, for instance, the Code requires that a priest obtain faculties from the bishop.) (My translation). of the Church, any priest celebrating or concelebrating is permitted to receive a contrary intention. Damien fought tooth and nail with the bishop who had authority over the Hawaiian Islands at the time—and many of their letters, which are still extant, attest to this fact. To sum up: if priests are being told in your country that “all public Masses must be cancelled, by order of the Bishops’ Conference,” this directive has no legal weight and should be disregarded, period. Abbondio is a parish priest in a tiny Italian village, and has already arranged to celebrate the wedding of two young peasants—but when the wealthy lord of the manor decides he wants to sleep with the bride-to-be himself, he orders the priest to cancel the wedding. The priest made repeated requests for building materials and medicines, as well as for a second priest to assist him (and also to hear Damien’s own confessions, since his inability to receive this sacrament clearly distressed him), who never arrived. 20. (It is a cruel irony that St. Charles’ successor, the current Archbishop of Milan, was the very first Italian bishop to order all public Masses suspended—despite no urging from the government, and at a very early point in the crisis, while all Milan’s bars, restaurants, museums and shops were still open. If, instead, the Holy See has recently issued the necessary “special mandate” allowing the Conference to issue such a decree … then the Episcopal Conference should naturally provide the faithful with evidence of that. However, the motive and purpose of the faithful's offerings have remained the same and have also been sanctioned by the new Code of Canon Law. a special book in which they note accurately the number of Masses to be No Catholic is expected to risk his life in order to fulfill his Sunday obligation. In many weather-related emergencies that happen to occur on a Sunday, a diocesan bishop will often declare publicly that the obligation of the Christian faithful of the diocese to attend Mass is hereby lifted. causes or those obliged in any way to see to the celebration of Masses, whether Bottom line: if a Catholic priest receives an illegal order from an ecclesiastical superior, to the effect that he must not celebrate Mass publicly, or administer any sacraments to the Catholic faithful, for fear of maybe spreading the virus … faith should triumph over fear. Can. §2. St. Charles Borromeo (1538-1584) was the Archbishop of Milan during the plague of 1575-1576. Catechumens are to be considered as Catholics as regards funerals, and the local ordinary may permit unbaptized children whose parents intended to have them baptized to be given a Catholic funeral. 948 Separate Masses are to be applied for the To sum up: if you, a member of the Catholic faithful, are genuinely unable to get to Sunday Mass, then you don’t have to go. §2. Neither his suffering of severe illness, nor his untiring ministerial activity carried out frequently in painful and risky circumstances, succeeded in stifling the radiant and communicative joy that arose from his love for Christ, and which no one could take away from him (cf. In short, the Pope was telling Catholic clergy, “Man up and serve your people, don’t behave like that!”. Pursuant to which provision in Canon Law may a diocesan bishop suspend or cancel public Masses? 953 No one is permitted to accept more The definitions of Catholic doctrine contained in the Council of Trent (e.g.,concerning the Mass, the sacraments, grace, original sin and justification) are acts of the solemn, extraordinary Magisterium of the Church. He expressed this love in particular in the Eucharist. Here is another fine example of a bishop who is clearly mindful of his responsibility for the spiritual wellbeing of those who are entrusted to his care. Can. A person who intends to entrust to It would be wonderful to be able to open the Code of Canon law to the right page, and tell you that canon xyz says “no member of the Catholic hierarchy has the authority to prevent the entire body of the faithful entrusted to his care from attending Mass and receiving the sacraments.”  But there isn’t any canon xyz to cite. Set up in 1991, it has attracted the highest quality applicants. It’s time for our parish clergy to think outside the box! Today Saint Damien is the patron of Hawaii, and  his statue today stands in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. THE OFFERING GIVEN FOR THE CELEBRATION OF MASS Can. MASS. each year either personally or through others. Members of all religious institutes must also (If you don’t know what it actually means to be “hanged, drawn and quartered,” this explanation is well worth a read, to understand what English Catholic priests were facing when they engaged in illegal ministry. The people of the parish need you, so when they ask you to minister to them, do it. paragraph 4). Can. He felt at home with them. Click here to hide the links to concordance, BOOK IVFUNCTION OF THE CHURCH (Cann. (Code of Canon Law, Can. But let’s look at two examples of Catholic priests who courageously risked their lives—and lost them—in order to provide for the spiritual needs of the faithful. And when American Catholics heard about this brave priest and his missionary work in Moloka’i, and began sending him financial aid … the bishop criticized Damien for accepting it, as it made him, the bishop, look bad. an offering to apply the Mass for a specific intention. 945 §1. Sometimes this offering is called a stipend. or other pious place which regularly receives offerings for Masses are to have others the celebration of Masses to be applied is to entrust their celebration It would be imprudent for any bishop to risk the spread of infection!”  Such people are conveniently forgetting that the Church has, in its nearly 2000-year history, plenty of experience dealing with widespread (and often far worse!) In accord with the approved practice Contrasted with the imperial or Caesarian law (jus caesareum), canon law is sometimes styled pontifical law (jus pontificium), often also it is termed sacred law (jus sacrum), and sometimes even Divine law (jus divinum: c. 2, De privil. The Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Canon Law states that the Holy Mass is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice. Prepared under the auspices of the Canon Law Society of America Canon Law Society of America Washington, DC 20064 Codex Iuris Canonici diseases—and it holds up for worldwide emulation numerous clergy who over the centuries handled these situations a bit differently. The use of the term “grave” in the Code of Canon Law was discussed in detail in “How Can a Priest Transfer to Another Diocese?” but in general, “grave reason” is serious stuff. vigilance that Mass obligations are fulfilled belong to the local ordinary in churches 951 §1) For each Mass offered for the Holy Souls, where the source of the offering is a money box in the church, a Priest may apply a stipend of £10. Canon 1688 The judge of second instance, with the intervention of the defender of the bond and after consulting the parties, is to decide in the same way as in canon 1686 whether the judgement is to be ratified, or whether the case should rather proceed according to the ordinary course of law, in which event he is to send the case back to the tribunal of first instance. And be sure to check out the pictures!) There is a huge difference between a bishop dispensing the faithful from attending Mass (i.e., telling them that they don’t have to come), and a bishop cancelling all public Masses (i.e., telling the faithful that they can’t come). Rest assured that universal law definitely does not authorize Conferences of Bishops to cancel Masses throughout their territory! The time within which Masses must be celebrated Can You be Refused Holy Communion If You Kneel? donor must be presumed legitimately to have been different. 1247, 1248.1) wasn’t invented out of thin air: it is based on the Third Commandment, given to Moses by God, telling us to keep the Sabbath holy. celebrated are to record in a book without delay both the Masses which they ), and he knew full well that prolonged contact with the lepers was basically a death sentence. How Can a Priest Transfer to Another Diocese? But what a frighteningly high number of bishops and parish priests seem to be losing complete sight of is the fact that God is the Lord and Creator of all, and has complete power over this and any other virus! Yes, Lombardy has been very badly hit. Now, nobody is suggesting that in areas which have become hot-spots for the virus, everyone should crowd into church for Sunday Mass exactly as usual. §3. But as we’re seeing now in a dramatic way, a startling number of them are revealing themselves to be perfectly willing to run away and abandon the sheep—like the hired man who does the job only for the money, and quits the minute that the going gets tough. You would be wrong. For unknown reasons, his messages to clergy (like this March 13 letter to the priests of Rome) don’t seem to be getting much attention lately—and in this case, the English translation is still missing from the Vatican website. it is certain that the excess over the sum fixed in the diocese was given for They frequently tried to stop him; and in response, he frequently ignored them, doing whatever it took to provide what he knew his people needed, for both body and soul. We’ll first have a look at what the law says about diocesan bishops’ responsibilities and the extent of their authority; and then we’ll turn to the responsibilities of our parish clergy. 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