Ministeria quaedam

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Ministeria quaedam is the title of a motu proprio given to Pope Paul VI. issued on August 15, 1972. He abolished the granting of minor and higher ordinations to the subdeacon and the consecutive stages of ordination in the Roman rite and reorganized the provisions on the liturgical services of the lecturer and the acolyte .

initial situation

In the Roman rite were candidates for the priesthood before the adoption of the apostolic letter ministerial quaedam transmit various services and functions as an introduction to the priesthood in succession. Initially, these were the so-called lower orders: Ostiarier , lecturer, exorcist and acolyte. After receiving the lower ordinations, the candidates were given the higher ordinations after their respective approval, as subdeacon, deacon and priest .

content

Based on the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium of the Second Vatican Council , the Pope stated that all believers should be led to full, conscious and active participation in the liturgical celebrations. The services previously exercised in the minor ordinations and the services of the subdeacon were to be retained in full, but should now be summarized in only two services: that of the lecturer and the acolyte. To indicate that these should now be open to all male laypeople , not just the candidates for ordination, the designation “ordination” was abolished and replaced by the episcopal “commission”.

The subdiaconate was abolished in the ordinary form of the Roman rite. The admission into the clergy took place with the ordination of deacons:

“In this way, the difference between clergy and laity also appears more clearly, between what is proper and reserved for the cleric and what can be transferred to the laity. In the same way, the mutual relationship between them becomes clearer, insofar as the common priesthood of the faithful and the priesthood of service, that is, the hierarchical priesthood, differ in essence and not merely in degree. Yet they are related to one another: the one as the other takes part in the priesthood of Christ in a special way. "

- Ministeria quaedam , preliminary remark

Individual regulations

With Ministeria quaedam the Pope decreed in detail, repealing conflicting law:

I. The granting of the first tonsure as entry into the clergy was abolished. From now on, clerics are only those who have been ordained deacons.

II. What has hitherto been referred to as minor orders will in future be called services,

III. The services can also be entrusted to laypeople and are no longer reserved for candidates for ordination.

IV. There are only two ministries left, that of the lecturer and that of the acolyte. The duties of the sub-deacon are assigned to these two ministries.

V. The lecturer has the following tasks in liturgical celebrations:

  • reading aloud the readings but not the gospel
  • in the absence of a prayer leader, the psalm is auditioned between readings
  • in the absence of a prayer leader or deacon, reading aloud the intercessions and leading the chant and directing the participation of the faithful in the dignified reception of the sacraments
  • the guidance of others who are to be temporarily entrusted with editing tasks

The lecturer should therefore have an intensive knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and love them.

VI. The acolyte has the following duties in liturgical celebrations:

  • Helpers of the deacon and altar servant
  • Extraordinary commissioner (minister extraordinarius) for the distribution of holy communion , if there is a lack of proper communion donors (priests and deacons) or the ordinary donors are physically unable to distribute communion
  • Suspending the sacrament of the altar for worship and bringing it back to the tabernacle , but not giving the Eucharistic blessing
  • Preparing other believers to perform the altar ministry

The acolyte should acquire everything that is related to the worship service, "in order to offer himself completely to God every day and to give an example of dignity and reverence to everyone in the church"

VII. The appointment of lecturers and acolytes is reserved for men in accordance with the ancient Church tradition.

VIII. A prerequisite for assuming a service is a written request to the responsible local bishop or religious superior , of the appropriate age and the firm determination to serve God and the people of God in faithfulness.

woman's role

Immediately after the apostolic letter was published, it was discussed in the press whether the new regulation, in particular the provision to reserve the appointment of lecturers or acolytes to men only , would exclude women from active participation in lay service positions in the liturgy . On October 6, 1972, L'Osservatore Romano commented on this question:

“With regard to the exercise of liturgical services by women, the Motu Proprio did not intend to innovate; the previously applicable standards were adhered to. Incidentally, it would not be opportune to anticipate or prejudice what might be determined in the future when the question of the participation of women in church community life is discussed [...] As P. Dezza said at the press conference of September 14, 1972 at the He has presented the two papal documents, expressly stated, does not prevent women from continuing to be commissioned with officially public reading during the service [...] nor is a formal and canonical establishment (institutio) on the part of the bishop necessary for this service . The bishops can also, in accordance with the norms in force, ask the Holy See to authorize women to distribute Holy Communion as extraordinary donors. "

- L'Osservatore Romano, No. 231

In the final document of the Amazon Synod of 2019, the Pope is asked to allow women to be commissioned as acolytes and lecturers.

literature

Web links

See also

Individual evidence

  1. Herbert Vorgrimler : Sacraments. Third edition. Patmos, Düsseldorf 2003, p. 278; Reiner Kaczynski: Low orders . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 7 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1998, Sp. 819 .
  2. ^ Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium , No. 14., AAS LVI, 1964, 104.
  3. Reiner Kaczynski: Low Orders . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 7 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1998, Sp. 819 .
  4. Ministeria quaedam I-IV: “In the future there will no longer be a major consecration of the subdiaconate in the Latin Church”; Reiner Kaczynski: Low orders . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 7 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1998, Sp. 819 .
  5. ^ L'Osservatore Romano , October 6, 1972, No. 231, p. 2.
  6. New ways for the church and a holistic ecology. Final document (October 25, 2019), No. 102.