Liturgical abuses

Good sense has prevailed in the Vatican’s long-awaited document on liturgical practices, Redemptionis sacramentum (The Sacrament of Redemption)

Pope John Paul last year requested the preparation of this document when he issued his encyclical on the Eucharist, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, as a measure to eliminate liturgical abuses.

When an early draft version of the document was leaked last year, many liturgists feared that its effect would be heavy-handed and retrogressive.

Among the more controversial proposals were a restriction on altar girls and a de facto ban on reception of Communion under both species (both remain subject to the local bishop’s discretion).

Alarmingly, the draft encouraged the faithful to report supposed liturgically errant clergy to their bishop in a way that could have opened opportunities for a system of denunciation. The new wording emphasises the right of any baptised Catholic to lodge a complaint with the local bishop, but counsels against a misuse of that prerogative.

In the event, Redemptionis sacramentum has dropped the sledgehammer method in favour of a more accommodating, though suitably strict, approach.

The document adds nothing new to liturgical norms, but warns of possible errors which may be committed, deliberately or inadvertently. It seems to recognises that not all instances of liturgical violations are premeditated, even as it uses tough language when referring to certain types of abuses.

The tone of the document suggests that the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, under Cardinal Francis Arinze, seeks as much to root out misconceptions about liturgy as it does to restrain illicit innovations.

For that reason, it is ambiguous to speak of “abuses” in the widely accepted sense of the word, with its implication of deliberate misconduct. Of course, instances of such transgression do occur. The Vatican points out that “in some places the perpetration of liturgical abuses has become almost habitual, a fact which obviously cannot be allowed and must cease.”

More often, however, where errors in the Mass occur, they do so because the rules have been misinterpreted or misremembered.

While the document cautions against unauthorised innovation, in many ways it serves as a practical reference point for clarification, rather than a crackdown.

Redemptionis sacramentum therefore is a timely reminder to clergy and laity alike as to what is impermissible in the celebration of the Mass (thankfully, discreet applause and appropriate liturgical dance during the Mass have escaped mention, never mind censure, as the earlier draft would have had it).

Cardinal Arinze, quoted in the US weekly National Catholic Reporter, likened the document to the rules in a game of football: “If you could just score from anywhere, fighting and tossing bottles would be the result. This is much more serious, because it’s not just a game, it’s our faith.”

Yet, in some instances the document leaves room for some interpretation. One example is in the Vatican’s authorisation of lay ministers of the Eucharist only in cases when there not enough priests to distribute Communion. It remains silent on what sort of ratio of priests to communicants would be sufficient. This judgment presumably would be the responsibility of the local ordinary.

While the Vatican has spoken on liturgical errors, for the Church in South Africa the work now begins in discerning what bearing the document will have on the question of inculturation in the liturgy.