Women as lectors

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jfoges said:
Am I a lector? or am I just a reader? What is the difference?
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Officially, there is no difference. In fact, they are the exact same word in Latin.

Unofficially, some people use the different terms in English to distinguish between (§1) men who have been instituted to the ministry, versus (§2) men and women who have been temporarily designated to the position.

Can. 230 §1. Lay men who possess the age and qualifications established by decree of the conference of bishops can be admitted on a stable basis through the prescribed liturgical rite to the ministries of lector and acolyte.

Nevertheless, the conferral of these ministries does not grant them the right to obtain support or remuneration from the Church.

§2. Lay persons can fulfill the function of lector in liturgical actions by temporary designation. All lay persons can also perform the functions of commentator or cantor, or other functions, according to the norm of law.

§3. When the need of the Church warrants it and ministers are lacking, lay persons, even if they are not lectors or acolytes, can also supply certain of their duties, namely, to exercise the ministry of the word, to preside offer liturgical prayers, to confer baptism, and to distribute Holy Communion, according to the prescripts of the law.
 
**My statement said that I wished only those on their way to holy orders should be instituted into this ministry. THen you indicated that deacons deserve the ministry as Well? I am in formation right now and I will be instituted as a Lector next year. SO for awhile my parish will have a lector.

You do realize that deacons recieve Holy Orders when they are ordained? RIght?**

**Did you not notice that I says Priests AND Deacons AND minor ministers?

Of COURSE I know that Diaconate is a major order.**
 
jfoges said:
I’m confused about this. I thought I was a lector at my parish because I do readings at mass. I am on the “lector schedule”. However I never went through a formation, nor was I ever instituted or ordained by a bishop. Am I a lector? or am I just a reader? What is the difference?
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The terms/titles are tossed around very loosely, especially in the U.S. and Canada. They are even mixed in a few U.S. church documents.
 
Dicerning said:
**Looks like **the world synod of bishops has asked the vatican to open up the former minor priestly order of Lector to Women.
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Do you have a link for this? I would like to read the whole official word. Thanks.
 
Just_Lurking said:
§3. When the need of the Church warrants it and ministers are lacking, lay persons, even if they are not lectors or acolytes, can also supply certain of their duties, namely, to exercise the ministry of the word, to preside offer liturgical prayers, to confer baptism, and to distribute Holy Communion, according to the prescripts of the law.
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This is where it gets ludicrous. We only have a contrived situation of “lacking” Lectors because bishops won’t institute men as lectors. Because of agendas.

It would be more prudent to do away with the instituted ministry altogether and just have “lay readers”.

That way we could avoid a potential disaster of what could come if women were allowed to be instituted.

If you want to know what I mean by disaster go to my second post on this thread. It would be pretty bad in my diocese…
 
Phemie said:
It strikes me as ludicrous that bishops would ask for women to be instituted when they can’t even be bothered to institute those who are already eligible to be.
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This is the only remaining place in the new canon law where lay women are discriminated against vis-a-vis lay men. The old 1918 code contained hundreds of instances of such discrimination, but the spirit of Vatican II regarding the equality of the laity resulted in the removal of all other instances of discrimination, including the prohibition against altar girls, but for some reason the code commission decided to keep this single remaining restriction.

If this is actually changed in canon law, then there will be no instances of discrimination of lay women versus lay men in the code.
 
Corki said:
Do you have a link for this? I would like to read the whole official word. Thanks.
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The author of this website is a reporter covering the vatican. He is actually at the conference. HERE is his website explaining the request for women lectors.
 
Br.Rich_SFO said:
You are thinking of Lay positions of Reader and Altar Server.
Not the Instituted ministries of Lector and Acolyte.

Lay Readers and Altar Servers are COMMISSIONED by the parish priest for a number of years usually one to three years to serve in his parish.

Lectors and Acolytes are INSTITUTED into the Ministry after some training, for life by the Bishop for service in his diocese.
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So are the functions any different? In other words, is there anything a Lector can do that a reader cannot? Same as for altar servers and acolyte.

As for the comment about using only those on track for Holy Orders in those roles, where are they going to come from? As I see it, our country is really really short of seminarians and priests now.
 
Just_Lurking said:
This is the only remaining place in the new canon law where lay women are discriminated against vis-a-vis lay men. The old 1918 code contained hundreds of instances of such discrimination, but the spirit of Vatican II regarding the equality of the laity resulted in the removal of all other instances of discrimination, including the prohibition against altar girls, but for some reason the code commission decided to keep this single remaining restriction.

If this is actually changed in canon law, then there will be no instances of discrimination of lay women versus lay men in the code.
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Can you point to the document from Vatican II where this was addressed? I have always thought that alter servers and the use of boys only was a Canon Law issue not a council one?
 
Just_Lurking said:
This is the only remaining place in the new canon law where lay women are discriminated against vis-a-vis lay men. The old 1918 code contained hundreds of instances of such discrimination, but the spirit of Vatican II regarding the equality of the laity resulted in the removal of all other instances of discrimination, including the prohibition against altar girls, but for some reason the code commission decided to keep this single remaining restriction.

If this is actually changed in canon law, then there will be no instances of discrimination of lay women versus lay men in the code.
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Not so, women still cannot be instituted acolytes – another instituted ministry that most of us never see because most bishops won’t provide the formation for men to be instituted.
 
lydia_coffman said:
So are the functions any different? In other words, is there anything a Lector can do that a reader cannot? Same as for altar servers and acolyte.

I know that Acolytes are automatically EMHCs, not sure about Lectors, and that acolytes can purify the vessels but altar servers cannot.

As for the comment about using only those on track for Holy Orders in those roles, where are they going to come from? As I see it, our country is really really short of seminarians and priests now.

Fr. is going to do all the readings, I guess, just like he did when I was growing up.
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Dicerning said:
Looks like the world synod of bishops has asked the vatican to open up the former minor priestly order of Lector to Women.

If hope this does not happen.
  1. I hope that the ministries are Lector and Acolyte are done away with altogether except for those who are on their way to Holy Orders.
  2. My diocese would have a field day with it if the pope approves women into this ministry.
    Right now around here The title Lector and Acolyte are not even mentioned and the VAST majority of Catholics in my diocese haven’t a clue that such ministries exist. If the request is granted I guarantee you that the flood gates of propeganda on the issue would be opened and the diocesan newspaper would be having an expose’ on the job of a lector.
This would be followed by hordes of women attending fast track seminars and little mini ordinations of lectors everywhere.

Its a bad idea in my liberal diocsese…it would get way out of hand and people would be severely misled.

Ok I gave my opinion any comments.
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I am surprised, but glad to hear of the world council of bishops’ proposal. I think it is an appropriate response to a liturgical reality that those who read and proclaim the scriptures aloud are lay people - men and women. This, I think, by the natural design of the liturgy is how it should be. It is truly right and proper that those who are called to and perform this important ministry be formally instituted as Lectors.

Lots of people in this thread are scratching their heads thinking “But we DO have women who lector already!” So then the distinction is made that most people who currently lector are properly called “readers” because they are temporarily deputized to function as lectors. Lectors are the “Ordinary Ministers of the Word” because in a way, the Church ‘orders’ (institutes) them to ministry.

Lots of people on this board also get their panties in a twist whenever they hear about the “overuse” of Extra-ordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, those who are deputized, but “outside of orders” to perform this ministry. We don’t seem to hear them whine about the use of readers to perform the ministry of lectors.

It would seem that since the role of lector and reader is exactly the same, the Church could do the faithful a great service by removing the artificial distinction. If the dioceses and parishes worked hard to recruit, train, and prayerfully discern good lectors, this would greatly stabilize and improve liturgy. Only in rare circumstances would there be an untrained, inexperienced reader up there out of necessity. The standards would have to be higher than “Can you come when scheduled?” and “Do you speak English?” because when the Church orders somebody to a ministry, it is for life.

As for your fear of the “field day” and “hordes of women”, I think that’s irrational, and perhaps misogynistic. A methodical process for selecting lectors would take time, and would necessarily involve seminars and installation ceremonies, which would necessarily get the attention of the press. And actually, for those who are worried about those “uppity feminists getting their way” (and making US miserable), consider that those who know they have been called to do something all along, and are now officially recognized for it, and are even given the resources to do it well, are probably going to do it fabulously and will also be much more pleasant to deal with. Doing this would actually take some of the sting out of other agenda.
 
DJgang said:
I am a little confused and as not to sound too stupid, I’m off to research… I thought women already did these things…😊
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The position of Acolytes in our parish is called Masters of Ceremony 😦 mostly young women. The lectors are three to one female.

My husband came home and told me that one of the RCIA leaders made the comment that at one time women were not allowed at the altar. DH said he wanted to tell her they still should not be allowed to do so. Bravo DH.
 
Wake up folks! It is interesting that you bring this up. We are in a cluster have been a couple years. Sometime soon everyone will be. Everyone will, there are not enough priests. There will be a need for everyone to do services and readings and what ever happens. It is all going to hit the fan. I think there will be lots more Word and Communions going on. They will be training the high school kids in their confirmation classes how to do it much of it. It is going to happen sooner than you think not later there is nothing anyone can do to stop it. We don’t have enough priests.
 
Through_Him said:
Wake up folks! It is interesting that you bring this up. We are in a cluster have been a couple years. Sometime soon everyone will be. Everyone will, there are not enough priests. There will be a need for everyone to do services and readings and what ever happens. It is all going to hit the fan. I think there will be lots more Word and Communions going on. They will be training the high school kids in their confirmation classes how to do it much of it. It is going to happen sooner than you think not later there is nothing anyone can do to stop it. We don’t have enough priests.
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Wow, that sounds incredibly much like someone bordering on despair. Have you no faith in what Christ said to Peter, that the gates of hell would not prevail against the Church founded upon him?

We are not in a vocations crisis-- we have exactly the clergy needed to do the job. No more, no less.

But we should be praying for an increase in vocations-- vocations to all states of life. More holy families will produce more holy priests, and precipitate the need for them. Where is the need for priests if there’s not a Church that is there to minister to?

Just my two pence.
 
Through_Him said:
Wake up folks! It is interesting that you bring this up. We are in a cluster have been a couple years. Sometime soon everyone will be. Everyone will, there are not enough priests. There will be a need for everyone to do services and readings and what ever happens. It is all going to hit the fan. I think there will be lots more Word and Communions going on. They will be training the high school kids in their confirmation classes how to do it much of it. It is going to happen sooner than you think not later there is nothing anyone can do to stop it. We don’t have enough priests.
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Which has zilch to do with the topic. Men AND women already function as readers in their respective parishes.

Raise your hand anyone here who has Intituted Lectors in their diocese… Lincoln, stop showing off 😃 Since most dioceses don’t institute lectors now, it means that in most parishes men and women readers are perfectly equal. Why bother changing the entire Church? Are women actually beating the doors down to go into formation to become instituted lectors? Heck, we have a hard time getting them to read the readings before they show up at Mass, forget about formal, diocesan training that would require them to leave home for a while.
 
bpbasilphx said:
1) I hope that the ministries are Lector and Acolyte are done away with altogether except for those who are on their way to Holy Orders.

**I disagree.

The divinely given order is to have not only Priests (Presbyters) but Deacons and minor ministers (Subdeacon and other minor orders which have varied among the Churches at different times) in every parish!**
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Reply:

I agree with what you said, however when is the last time you saw an acolyte? As a very active life long Catholic, I’m not sure that I ever have:rolleyes: I wonder why?

God’s continued Blessings, PJM m.c.
 
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