Scottish episcopate changes the elements of the Mass

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Hello everyone. I hope i am not breaking any rules by creating this topic but i have one question and i did not find any related topic on forum.

So, Scottish Episcopate sent new document with “guidelines” on Mass in nearest future. I cannot provide link so you can find it by looking for “Guidance on preparing for the re-opening of Churches” document on Scotland Episcopate site (google → BCOS DOCUMENTS ON REOPENING OF CHURCHES → third document).

Some changes make me and my friend wondering:
  1. Both the Gloria and the Creed may be omitted.
  2. At Sunday Mass the second reading may be omitted.
  3. In place of the words “Body of Christ” for each communicant, before the Celebrant
    receives Holy Communion, he may say the words May the Body and Blood of Christ keep
    us all safe to eternal life, to which the congregation responds Amen.
  4. Holy Communion may be distributed after the Final Prayer.
As far as i know, episcopate do not have approval of Holy See on this changes (my friends priest who is familiar with situation told him so), and also he told me that in this context (and basically always?) “may be omitted” actually means it must be omitted.

So my question is: do episcopate need Holy See approval on this changes?
 
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All four of those rules look as if their purpose is to reduce the likelihood of the virus spreading among the congregation at Mass. Are you certain that the Vatican has told the national bishops’ conferences that they’re not allowed to make changes of this kind? My guess would be that the CDW knows all about it and has found nothing to complain about.
 
I did not say that Vatican said that they cannot change that, but as far as i know (i might be wrong), changes in Mass like omitting Creed or Gloria, or distribute Communion after Final Prayer or change the words on Communion receiving cannot be done without approval of Holy See from default (as i found in different topic

“He cannot, however, on his own, introduce novelties and abrogate things. For example, if he wanted to allow the laity to speak right after the homily, he would have to propose the adaptation to his national episcopal conference (in our case, the USCCB). Then, the proposal would be presented before the Latin Rite bishops who would then have to approve it by a two-thirds majority. Even then, the proposal would have to go to Rome to receive the necessary recognitio.”)
 
As I said in my second reply to you, the CDW issued two decrees on the question of dealing with the pandemic. If you can find the earlier one, that would be the best way to verify whether or not the Scottish bishops are acting in full compliance with the emergency rules.
 
Yes i suppose i found it, but it speaks only about Triduum etc., i cant provide link so it can be found google → COVID-19 Decree from the CDW → should be second position
 
Gaunt said:
“He cannot, however, on his own, introduce novelties and abrogate things. For example, if he wanted to allow the laity to speak right after the homily, he would have to propose the adaptation to his national episcopal conference (in our case, the USCCB). Then, the proposal would be presented before the Latin Rite bishops who would then have to approve it by a two-thirds majority. Even then, the proposal would have to go to Rome to receive the necessary recognitio.”)
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All well and good except in a time of pandemic! Tbh pretty much every bishops’ conference is making it up as they go along - trying to find ways to adapt to the current “new normal” which includes the wonderfully fraught problem of how to celebrate mass with restrictions on the numbers allowed to be present. I get the impression that the CDW are giving bishops’ conferences (as well as individual bishops) a fairly wide latitude for two reasons: the situation on the ground so to speak is difficult enough as is; the amount of variation between countries (and even within the same country) is so vast that it’s about impossible to have any sort of overarching guidance (here in New Zealand, our churches are now open for unrestricted worship while in Scotland churches have yet to reopen at all).
 
Gaunt said:
Some changes make me and my friend wondering:
  1. Both the Gloria and the Creed may be omitted.
  2. At Sunday Mass the second reading may be omitted.
  3. In place of the words “Body of Christ” for each communicant, before the Celebrant
    receives Holy Communion, he may say the words May the Body and Blood of Christ keep
    us all safe to eternal life, to which the congregation responds Amen.
  4. Holy Communion may be distributed after the Final Prayer.
As far as i know, episcopate do not have approval of Holy See on this changes (my friends priest who is familiar with situation told him so), and also he told me that in this context (and basically always?) “may be omitted” actually means it must be omitted.

So my question is: do episcopate need Holy See approval on this changes?
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So far as I am aware, all four of these things are permissible, not ideal, but permissible. I know of parishes where they are doing #3, ,#4, or both.

The watchword here is keep the Mass as short as possible, to minimize the amount of time everyone is forced to remain still, in the same space, which is usually enclosed with varying degrees of less-than-perfect ventilation.

I would just beg the priests to keep the sermon short. Long, ponderous sermons can wait for better times. And please put those announcements in the bulletin, and direct people’s attention thusly. Reading announcements and the “please be seated” after communion (5-10 minutes of announcements, presentations, and so on) can also wait for better times. I am entirely on board with the notion that “Mass is to be savored”, but that’s not a luxury we have right now.
 
HomeschoolDad said:
The watchword here is keep the Mass as short as possible ,
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I reckon we’ll soon see if this is really necessary. Most of the Masses around here are running a relatively normal length. The hymns are shorter, and in some cases the homilies have been shorter (in other cases not), but overall I’m not seeing stuff cut out of the Mass other than the Sign of Peace.

I also noticed today, the church having been open for Mass all of 4 days (it was actually open during the whole shutdown but people were kind of discouraged from praying in groups out loud in there), that the elderly people’s daily Rosary and Divine Mercy group was getting ready to sit in church an extra hour and pray just as I was leaving morning Mass. I’d have stayed and prayed along, but I had a work meeting.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
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HomeschoolDad:
The watchword here is keep the Mass as short as possible ,
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I reckon we’ll soon see if this is really necessary. Most of the Masses around here are running a relatively normal length. The hymns are shorter, and in some cases the homilies have been shorter (in other cases not), but overall I’m not seeing stuff cut out of the Mass other than the Sign of Peace.
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That we will. My area has already seen a large spike. I have high-risk family members and I have to do everything humanly possible, to keep my own risk as low as possible. I do have a nearby family home (long story) I can go to, to self-quarantine, if I do get sick — I’ve set it up with food, drink, beer 🙂 🍺, AC, computer with wi-fi so I can homeschool my son remotely, wide-screen TV — but by the time I know I’m sick, I will have already been contagious two weeks. There are no easy answers. Any outside contact I have is kept as brief as possible, “just in and out”, wearing an industrial-grade respirator if it’s going to be more than a few minutes (N95-equivalent cup mask otherwise).
 
This is one time when my having zero family members, except for a few inlaws many hours away, works in my favor. Fewer worries and more mobility for me. I wear my mask and stay away from people for the most part.
 
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My view is that the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland does not have the authority to make these four changes.

Regarding the second, they are permitted to do something similar to this. The second change is: “2. At Sunday Mass the second reading may be omitted.” The General Introduction to the Lectionary has: “79. In Masses assigned three readings, the three are to be used. If, however, for pastoral reasons the conference of bishops has permitted use of only two readings, [footnote 105] the choice between the two first readings is to be made in such a way as to safeguard the Church’s intent to instruct the faithful more completely in the mystery of salvation.”

It has at COVID-19 that “No dates for the re-opening of Scottish churches have yet been announced by the Scottish Bishops.”

[Excerpt from the English translation of the Lectionary (c) 1981, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.]
 
Those are not opposed. Consider the difference between “even if people feel” and “it is part”. It is quite easy for anyone (myself included) to “feel” something that isn’t true.
 
Mass in a pandemic-hit world calls for unusual measures.

Here’s what Father said on Pentecost Sunday, the first post-lockdown Sunday with public Masses here : “Please, I know some of you will be dissatisfied with the way things are being done, will say that we’re not celebrating obediently or reverently enough. But please, please try to see it this way : this Mass is not a badly or half-celebrated Mass, it is the very best Mass we can celebrate in these particular times.”
 
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JohnLilburne said:
My view is that the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland does not have the authority to make these four changes.
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In his post #7 on this thread, Fr. @InThePew says the CDW is giving national bishops’ conferences a fairly wide latitude to adapt the liturgy as required in the present emergency. That would suggest that the CDW has in fact given the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland the authority it needed to make those temporary changes.
 
I’m not in Scotland, don’t much care what the Scottish bishops do in good faith, and I’m sure the Vatican can police them adequately without me needing to chime in from across the pond, but I’m still wondering what exactly is the point of these changes? The omissions reduce Mass length by maybe 5 to 10 minutes, which seems insignificant, and here in the States we’re quite capable of reciting our Gloria, Creed, and “Amen” at Communion behind our mandatory masks.

Does Scotland have a ton of COVID?
Do people not wear masks there?
Are the churches too wee to allow distancing?
It’s not a Catholic country so I can’t imagine Mass being a jam packed scenario like in Poland.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Do people not wear masks there?
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I don’t know the situation in Scotland, but here in Switzerland masks are not mandatory in public spaces. Almost nobody wears one to Mass. That’s why the Swiss Bishops’ Conference took measures to ensure the congregants speak or sing as little as possible.

As a result, the Gloria is sung by a mask-wearing soloist, and the Creed is said in the baptismal form, with three questions to which we answer “I believe”. The hymnals were removed from the pews.

Similarly to what the OP posted, we also have the dialogue “the Body of Christ – Amen” said once by the priest and the whole congregation, before communion proceeds in silence.
 
I see. We’ve been wearing masks in my area since April; you can’t be admitted to a grocery store or a convenience store or drug store without one since then, and they’re required at Mass too except for the priest, the deacon, and the lector only when he or she is reading. Today before Mass the priest lectured someone in the back who didn’t have a mask on and said they were required at all times while in the church building. There are other churches telling people they must be worn from the time you exit your car in the parking lot till when you get back in the car after Mass.

So it’s a bit odd for me to picture a country that has COVID and no one is wearing a mask to go into stores and churches. Frankly that would make me uncomfortable, as people do cough and sneeze at Mass.

It doesn’t even have to be a mask, just a “face covering” so some people just tie a bandanna or scarf around their nose and mouth.
 
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OddBird said:
but here in Switzerland masks are not mandatory in public spaces.
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In the USA the govt isn’t really mandiating masks either, but private organizations (stores, churches, etc.) are all making them mandatory in order to enter their buildings.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
So it’s a bit odd for me to picture a country that has COVID and no one is wearing a mask to go into stores and churches.
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Well, Switzerland had 6 new cases nationwide and no deaths today, so people are relaxing (and possibly getting a bit careless). We’re encouraged to wear masks on public transportation and in crowded stores, but that’s about it.
 
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