May a bishop allow the laity to preach at Mass?

[AMDGCardinal]

I am a student at Stanford University whose Newman Center is run by two very smart and humble Dominicans. Over the course of the last couple of years, we have noticed that a lay “chaplain” gives the homily at Mass once a month. When we asked the pastor of our community, we were told that the bishop had allowed such a practice to go on at our church. However, we found that a Complementary Norm issued by the USCCB (usccb.org/norms/766.htm) says that a bishop is not allowed to grant an indult to allow laypersons to give a homily and that only an ordained minister can give the homily during Mass. What is the proper interpretation of this Norm and is the lay homily allowed? Thank you for your time

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Hi,

This has been a rather common practice in campus ministry until recently. You are correct. The bishop does not have the authority to allow it. There are limited cases in which a lay person can preach in a church or oratory (canon 766), but they may not preach the homily at Mass. The Holy See confirmed this in an authentic interpretation of canon 767:

The Doubt: “Whether the diocesan bishop is able to dispense from the prescription of canon 767, section 1, by which the homily is reserved to priests and deacons.

The Response: Negative (Acta Apotolicae Sedis 79 ( 1987), 1249, cf. Documents on the Liturgy (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1983)

In many instances it seems that bishops and priests have not been aware of this law. However, section 4 of canon 767 is quite explicit: “It is the duty of the pastor or rector of a church to see to it that these prescriptions are conscientiously observed.”

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.