It always amazes me when a document is ignored because it doesn’t have the “force of law” when all it really does is repeat the law already in force.
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1973 - IMMENSAE CARITATIS
- allows EMHCs for the first time and rule I limits their use to
a. whenever no priest, deacon, or acolyte is available;
b. whenever the same ministers are impeded from administering communion because of another pastoral ministry, ill-health, or old age;
c. whenever the number of faithful wishing to receive communion is so great that the celebration of Mass or the giving of communion outside Mass would take too long.
**
1980 - **INAESTIMABILE DONUM - Instruction Concerning Worship Of The Eucharistic Mystery **- article 10 reiterates the rule:
10. The faithful, whether religious or lay, who are authorized as extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist can distribute Communion only when there is no priest, deacon or acolyte, when the priest is impeded by illness or advanced age, or when the number of the faithful going to Communion is so large as to make the celebration of Mass excessively long.[20] Accordingly, a reprehensible attitude is shown by those priests who, though present at the celebration, refrain from distributing Communion and leave this task to the laity.
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1988 - **A dubium is submitted to Rome. The doubt: Whether the extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, deputed in accordance with cc. 910.2 and 230.3, can exercise his or her supplementary function even when ordinary ministers, who are not in any way impeded, are present in the church, though not taking part in the Eucharistic celebration.
The response, published in
Acta Apostolica Sedis 80 (1988) page 1373,: Negative.
1997 - ECCLESIAE DE MYSTERIO - ****Interdicasterial Instruction on certain questions regarding the collaboration of the non-ordained faithful in the Sacred ministry of the priest - article 8.2 again stresses:
2. Extraordinary ministers may distribute Holy Communion at eucharistic celebrations only when there are no ordained ministers present or when those ordained ministers present at a liturgical celebration are truly unable to distribute Holy Communion.(99) They may also exercise this function at eucharistic celebrations where there are particularly large numbers of the faithful and which would be excessively prolonged because of an insufficient number of ordained ministers to distribute Holy Communion. (100)
To avoid creating confusion, certain practices are to be avoided and eliminated where such have emerged in particular Churches:
**- **extraordinary ministers receiving Holy Communion apart from the other faithful as though concelebrants;
- association with the renewal of promises made by priests at the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday, as well as other categories of faithful who renew religious vows or receive a mandate as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion;
**-
the habitual use of extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion at Mass thus arbitrarily extending the concept of “a great number of the faithful”.
2004 - REDEMPTIONIS SACRAMENTUM - On certain matters to be observed or to be avoided regarding the Most Holy Eucharist **once again lists the rules about when EMHCs can exercise their function:
[157.] If there is usually present a sufficient number of sacred ministers for the distribution of Holy Communion, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion may not be appointed. Indeed, in such circumstances, those who may have already been appointed to this ministry should not exercise it. The practice of those Priests is reprobated who, even though present at the celebration, abstain from distributing Communion and hand this function over to laypersons.
[158.] Indeed, the extraordinary minister of Holy Communion may administer Communion only when the Priest and Deacon are lacking, when the Priest is prevented by weakness or advanced age or some other genuine reason, or when the number of faithful coming to Communion is so great that the very celebration of Mass would be unduly prolonged. This, however, is to be understood in such a way that a brief prolongation, considering the circumstances and culture of the place, is not at all a sufficient reason.
So 42 years after the first document clearly laid out when EMCHs could exercise their function and after 4 subsequent documents have consistently reiterated the parameters under which they can exercise their function, if I get a letter from Rome telling me that EMHCs can’t minister if there are only 50 people at Mass a priest and a deacon present and lists all of the above documents you can say “Oh, we don’t have to listen to that it’s a private letter.”
