List the Abuse with Support Documentation

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deogratias

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Here is a challenge.

Because there have been many threads now that address Liturgical Abuses and because many of us wish to address these same abuses with our Pastors or Bishops or if necessary, with Rome,

I thought it might be beneficial to all of us to compose a list.

This list should stand on its own without comment.

What I ask that each do is is name the abuse.

Beside the abuse, list the Document, and the # or page or chapter, etc. within the document that supports that this is an abuse.

Make sure this is current (in other words, don’t list the old GIRM, or Canon law prior to 1983, or any material which is not the current teaching of the Church).

You may list more than one document in support of any one abuse if you wish. Many documents and the CCC refer to foot notes and reconfirm what is already given elsewhere. The more documentation to support your case, the better.

This could prove to be a good exercise for all of us in learning about our Faith and sharing it with others *without interjecting opinions or feelings. *This is also a good exercise in apologetics, by knowing what our faith teaches and providing sources rather than emotions, we can better make our case.

Here is an Example

The Abuse: Levened bread is being used instead of unlevened bread, it contains honey and is being baked at a local bakery.

Documentation:
Redemptionis Sacramentum Chapter III #1.
Congregation for Divine Worship, Instruction, Liturgicae instaurationes, 5 September 1970: AAS 62 (1970) p. 694
Code of Canon Law, can. 924 §2; Missale Romanum, Institutio Generalis, n. 320.
Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments, Instruction, Dominus Salvator noster, 26 March 1929, n. 1: AAS 21 (1929) pp. 631-642, here p. 632.
Dominus Salvator noster, 26 March 1929, n. 1: AAS21 (1929): AAS 21 (1929) p. 635.

Note: If I were actually presenting this to my pastor or Bishop, I would document the frequency I observed the abuse and in addition to giving the references, I would provide the information in those documents in quotation marks. Remember almost all documents can be found on line for you to verify your references if you wish.

Are you up to the challenge?
 
You need to include where it occured and when.

if a priest did it, you need to include the name of the priest if talking to his bishop.
 
If you are going to do this, you will need to document not just the frequency with which you have seen the abuse, but specific dates/times/Masses and which minister performed the abuse. Also, be aware that not all abuses are of the same severity. My suggestion is to go after the major abuses (such as the example you provided) rather than every single abuse. After a while laundry lists of abuses are simply ignored. One or two that can be directly addressed at a time is a better approach.

Deacon Ed
 
  1. Complaints Regarding Abuses in Liturgical Matters
[183.] In an altogether particular manner, let everyone do all that is in their power to ensure that the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist will be protected from any and every irreverence or distortion and that all abuses be thoroughly corrected. This is a most serious duty incumbent upon each and every one, and all are bound to carry it out without any favouritism.

[184.] Any Catholic, whether Priest or Deacon or lay member of Christ’s faithful, has the right to lodge a complaint regarding a liturgical abuse to the diocesan Bishop or the competent Ordinary equivalent to him in law, or to the Apostolic See on account of the primacy of the Roman Pontiff.[290] It is fitting, however, insofar as possible, that the report or complaint be submitted first to the diocesan Bishop. This is naturally to be done in truth and charity.

[59.] The reprobated practice by which Priests, Deacons or the faithful here and there alter or vary at will the texts of the Sacred Liturgy that they are charged to pronounce, must cease. For in doing thus, they render the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy unstable, and not infrequently distort the authentic meaning of the Liturgy.

Inaestimabile Donum and Canon Law state:

"The faithful have a right to a true Liturgy, which means the Liturgy desired and laid down by the Church, which has in fact indicated where adaptations may be made as called for by pastoral requirements in different places or by different groups of people. Undue experimentation, changes and creativity bewilder the faithful. The use of unauthorized texts means a loss of the necessary connection between the lex orandi and the lex credendi. The Second Vatican Council’s admonition in this regard must be remembered: “No person, even if he be a priest, may add, remove or change anything in the Liturgy on his own authority.” [Sacrosanctum Concilium] And Paul VI of venerable memory stated that: “Anyone who takes advantage of the reform to indulge in arbitrary experiments is wasting energy and offending the ecclesial sense.”[Paul VI, address of August 22, 1973: “L’Osservatore Romano,” August 23, 1973.]

[169.] Whenever an abuse is committed in the celebration of the sacred Liturgy, it is to be seen as a real falsification of Catholic Liturgy. St Thomas wrote, “the vice of falsehood is perpetrated by anyone who offers worship to God on behalf of the Church in a manner contrary to that which is established by the Church with divine authority, and to which the Church is accustomed”.[278]

[170.] In order that a remedy may be applied to such abuses, “there is a pressing need for the biblical and liturgical formation of the people of God, both pastors and faithful”,[279] so that the Church’s faith and discipline concerning the sacred Liturgy may be accurately presented and understood. Where abuses persist, however, proceedings should be undertaken for safeguarding the spiritual patrimony and rights of the Church in accordance with the law, employing all legitimate means.
 
There was no homily at the 10AM Mass. (Both a Priest and Deacon celebrated the Mass.) Rather, a talk was given by Sr. XXXX. The GIRM 2002 clearly forbids this.

From the GIRM - 66. The Homily should ordinarily be given by the priest celebrant himself. He may entrust it to a concelebrating priest or occasionally, according to circumstances, to the deacon, but never to a lay person.65 In particular cases and for a just cause, the homily may even be given by a Bishop or a priest who is present at the celebration but cannot concelebrate.
There is to be a homily on Sundays and holy days of obligation at all Masses that are celebrated with the participation of a congregation; it may not be omitted without a serious reason. It is recommended on other days, especially on the weekdays of Advent, Lent, and the Easter Season, as well as on other festive days and occasions when the people come to church in greater numbers.
 
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion:
  1. Fractioning the wine
GIRM - 83. The priest breaks the Eucharistic Bread, assisted, if the case calls for it, by the deacon or a concelebrant. Christ’s gesture of breaking bread at the Last Supper, which gave the entire Eucharistic Action its name in apostolic times, signifies that the many faithful are made one body (1 Cor 10:17) by receiving Communion from the one Bread of Life which is Christ, who died and rose for the salvation of the world. The fraction or breaking of bread is begun after the sign of peace and is carried out with proper reverence, though it should not be unnecessarily prolonged, nor should it be accorded undue importance. This rite is reserved to the priest and the deacon.
T he priest breaks the Bread and puts a piece of the host into the chalice to signify the unity of the Body and Blood of the Lord in the work of salvation, namely, of the living and glorious Body of Jesus Christ. The supplication Agnus Dei, is, as a rule, sung by the choir or cantor with the congregation responding; or it is, at least, recited aloud. This invocation accompanies the fraction and, for this reason, may be repeated as many times as necessary until the rite has reached its conclusion, the last time ending with the words dona nobis pacem (grant us peace).

Sacrosanctum Concilium #22: (1) Regulation of the sacred liturgy depends solely on the authority of the Church, that is, on the Apostolic See, and, as laws may determine, on the bishop. (2) In virtue of power conceded by law, the regulation of the liturgy within certain defined limits belongs also to various kinds of bishops’ conferences, legitimately established, with competence in given territories. (3) Therefore no other person, not even a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority.

Redemptionis Sacramentum – 4/2004

[106.] However, the pouring of the Blood of Christ after the consecration from one vessel to another is completely to be avoided, lest anything should happen that would be to the detriment of so great a mystery. Never to be used for containing the Blood of the Lord are flagons, bowls, or other vessels that are not fully in accord with the established norms.
 
On certain matters to be observed or to be avoided
regarding the Most Holy Eucharist

[55.] In some places there has existed an abuse by which the Priest breaks the host at the time of the consecration in the Holy Mass. This abuse is contrary to the tradition of the Church. It is reprobated and is to be corrected with haste.

[93.] The Communion-plate for the Communion of the faithful should be retained, so as to avoid the danger of the sacred host or some fragment of it falling.[180]
Code: 
     2. Receiving the Holy Eucharist together with the priest
      3. Ministers approaching the altar before the Priest receives
From the GIRM: Girm - 162. The priest may be assisted in the distribution of Communion by other priests who happen to be present. If such priests are not present and there is a very large number of communicants, the priest may call upon extraordinary ministers to assist him, e.g., duly instituted acolytes or even other faithful who have been deputed for this purpose.97 In case of necessity, the priest may depute suitable faithful for this single occasion.98 These ministers should not approach the altar before the priest has received Communion, and they are always to receive from the hands of the priest celebrant the vessel containing either species of the Most Holy Eucharist for distribution to the faithful.

As the Agnus Dei or Lamb of God is begun, the bishop or priest alone, or with the assistance of the deacon, and if necessary of concelebrating priests, breaks the Eucharistic bread.

All receive Holy Communion in the manner described by the General Instruction to the Roman Missal, whether priest concelebrants (cf. GIRM, nos. 159, 242, 243, 246), deacons (cf. GIRM, nos. 182, 244, 246), or Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (cf. GIRM, no. 284). Neither deacons nor lay ministers may ever receive Holy Communion in the manner of a concelebrating priest. The practice of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion waiting to receive Holy Communion until after the distribution of Holy Communion is not in accord with liturgical law. (THLS, 39; GIRM, 160).
 
  1. Changing of the words during Consecration – “Disciples to friends” - Priest using his own prayers instead of the Sacramentary - Changing the words of other prayers - [59.] The reprobated practice by which Priests, Deacons or the faithful here and there alter or vary at will the texts of the Sacred Liturgy that they are charged to pronounce, must cease. For in doing thus, they render the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy unstable, and not infrequently distort the authentic meaning of the Liturgy.
 
Responsorial Psalm – hymn substituted - From the GIRM 61 In the Diocese of the United States of America, the following may also be sung in place of the Psalm assigned in the Lectionary for Mass: either the proper or seasonal antiphon and Psalm from the Lectionary, as found either in the Roman Gradual or Simple Gradual or in another musical setting; or an antiphon and Psalm from another collection of the psalms and antiphons, including psalms arranged in metrical form, providing that they have been approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops or the Diocesan Bishop. Songs or hymns may not be used in place of the responsorial Psalm.
 
Gift bearers approaching the Altar - From the GIRM 73. At the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist the gifts, which will become Christ’s Body and Blood, are brought to the altar.
First, the altar, the Lord’s table, which is the center of the whole Liturgy of the Eucharist,70 is prepared by placing on it the corporal, purificator, Missal, and chalice (unless the chalice is prepared at the credence table).
The offerings are then brought forward. It is praiseworthy for the bread and wine to be presented by the faithful. They are then accepted at an appropriate place by the priest or the deacon and carried to the altar. Even though the faithful no longer bring from their own possessions the bread and wine intended for the liturgy as in the past, nevertheless the rite of carrying up the offerings still retains its force and its spiritual significance. It is well also that money or other gifts for the poor or for the Church, brought by the faithful or collected in the church, should be received. These are to be put in a suitable place but away from the Eucharistic table.
 
. Adults and children standing around the Altar during Consecration - In paragraph 162 of the General Instruction it says, referring to the Extraordinary Ministers of Communion when required by pastoral necessity, “These ministers should not approach the altar before the priest has received Communion…” That point is, of course, well after the Our Father.

The principle behind this is the distinction between the Head and the Members of Christ. The Mass is Christ worshipping the Father, and, distributing the graces of redemption to us from Him. The bishop or priest acting in persona Christi, represents Christ. The people represent His members. By their distinct offices and places (presbyterum or sanctuary, versus nave) this distinction is sacramentally manifest. Christ is not amorphous, with every part interchangeable. He personally saved us, and through His ministerial priests re-presents that saving act. THAT unique and irreplaceable role MUST be evident! Thus, no member of the laity should be around the altar, or even in the sanctuary, except by necessity to assist the celebrant in his office representing Christ to the Father (offering sacrifice) and to the members of His Body (teaching, Communion). Such necessity during the Eucharistic Prayer could include a Master of Ceremonies (a server assisting at the celebrant’s side, in lieu of a deacon). Certainly, the lector or cantor, who also holds liturgical offices, could be in the sanctuary at some distance from the altar, as is done in many places. However, it is certainly contrary to the principle implied in 162 for numbers of the laity to come up out of the congregation for any purpose - whether they are adults, teens or children. It teaches that the sacramental purposes of the Mass are subordinate to the merely human purpose of honoring some group or identifying them as special.
From the abuses pointed out by these 8 Roman dicasteries, it is clear than a practice which blurs the distinction of priest and people, such as everyone standing around the altar, is contrary to the sacramental nature of the Eucharistic liturgy as a sign of the Christ and the Church.

The whole purpose of the liturgical renewal of Vatican II was to bring each of the roles in the Mass (bishop, priest, deacon, laity) into full and proper relief. In this way they serve as sacramental signs of the Body of Christ. When the practice you describe is followed, the roles become confused, and this necessary sacramental distinction, by which we understand Christ present as head (priest) and members (laity), becomes blurred. It is a serious abuse, as the confusion and pain experienced by the parishioners indicates.

In a document on the Role of Non-Ordained Ministers in 1998, 8 Roman Congregations re-iterated this point by stating that Extraordinary Eucharistic Ministers may not do this. What applies to them applies to all the laity. The new GIRM is clear, as well, that EMEs come up AFTER the priest’s Communion. That certainly prevents all others from being up there during the Eucharistic Prayer.
 
Deacon said at the end of Mass – “The Mass never ends…”

According, to the GIRM no one, Priest or layperson is allowed to change the MASS.
 
Sacred Vessels and Furnishings

From Redemptionis Sacramentum:

[117.] Sacred vessels for containing the Body and Blood of the Lord must be made in strict conformity with the norms of tradition and of the liturgical books.[205]The Bishops’ Conferences have the faculty to decide whether it is appropriate, once their decisions have been given the recognitio by the Apostolic See, for sacred vessels to be made of other solid materials as well. It is strictly required, however, that such materials be truly noble in the common estimation within a given region,[206]so that honour will be given to the Lord by their use, and all risk of diminishing the doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharistic species in the eyes of the faithful will be avoided. Reprobated, therefore, is any practice of using for the celebration of Mass common vessels, or others lacking in quality, or devoid of all artistic merit or which are mere containers, as also other vessels made from glass, earthenware, clay, or other materials that break easily. This norm is to be applied even as regards metals and other materials that easily rust or deteriorate.[207]
 
Buffalo,

Some of the abuses you mentioned seem to flow out of LifeTeen. These have already been addressed by LifeTeen and a letter has been sent to all LifeTeen parishes mandating the changes. It’s best not to beat a dead horse.

Deacon Ed
 
Sorry! These were during Sunday Mass - not lifeteen, and many still go on today.
 
Buffalo and Deacon Thanks for the rapid participation so far but I can’t help wonder if I did not clearly say to just give the abuse and the reference without comment and without quoting the documentation and without this evolving into just another discussion thread - I guess I expect too much.:hmmm:

I really would like a “clean” list like the example I gave. All the comments and quotes are too much for people to wade through.

Even those quotations do not Give chapter and number and while it gives the numbers for the footnotes, it does not include them.

My goal is to compose a clean list of abuses (for this particular list I don’t need times, events, places, etc. that would be for the individual to include when addressing their Pastor, Bishop, etc.)

I hope to list them alphabetically - and then have the documentation REFERENCES ONLY next to them. If we can cooperatively compose such an accurate list, then perhaps I can request the forum moderator to review it and make it a Sticky to post in this section.

So please, please just use the following example and post using this format.

The Abuse: Levened bread is being used instead of unlevened bread, it contains honey and is being baked at a local bakery.

Documentation:
Redemptionis Sacramentum Chapter III #1.
Congregation for Divine Worship, Instruction, Liturgicae instaurationes, 5 September 1970: AAS 62 (1970) p. 694
Code of Canon Law, can. 924 §2; Missale Romanum, Institutio Generalis, n. 320.
Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments, Instruction, Dominus Salvator noster, 26 March 1929, n. 1: AAS 21 (1929) pp. 631-642, here p. 632.
Dominus Salvator noster, 26 March 1929, n. 1: AAS21 (1929): AAS 21 (1929) p. 635.

Thanks
 
You need to include where it occured and when.
Click to expand...
if a priest did it, you need to include the name of the priest if talking to his bishop.
Click to expand...
This is not necessary for the purpose of this list. Just want the type of abuse and where it is documented that it is an abuse.

When and if you choose to do something about it this would be true.
 
Deacon - sorry I included in the what I hope was a gentle reprimand about the contents of the thread, I see all those quotes from the document were from Buffalo. I apologize for inadvertently including you.
 
You should read James (aka Jimmy) Akin’s book Mass Confusion a lot of this is in there.
–Ann
 
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