Priesthood all but destroyed in Switzerland

 Swiss laity raise liturgical 'dubia' with Cardinal Roche

Can the laity play a licit role in the sacramental tasks already entrusted to them in the Dioceses of Basel, Coira and St Gallen? This is what Vera Fides, a group of Swiss faithful who sent an open letter to Cardinal Arthur Roche, Prefect for the Liturgy, wants to know.

In the Swiss dioceses of Basel, Coira and St Gallen, the bishops generally allow lay people to give the homily during the celebration of the Eucharist and to administer baptism. In Basel and St. Gallen, the bishops would in many cases grant an extraordinary delegation for marriage assistance.

According to Canon Law, these tasks are reserved to priests and deacons, but, say the Swiss laity in the letter, "in many parishes, a practice has been established whereby the administration of the sacraments by lay people has become a normal state of affairs".

In half of the parishes in Basel, the Sunday Eucharistic celebration is replaced by a liturgy of the word presided over by lay people, with distribution of communion. In many Eucharistic celebrations, the role of the priest is reduced to reciting the words of consecration.

Many Catholics reject such abuses and have already consulted the bishops on this issue. But at the same time, due to a lack of knowledge of the faith, a large number of Catholics no longer distinguish between a Eucharistic celebration and a liturgy of the word with distribution of communion.

Vera Fides asks the dicastery whether the reduction in the number of priests is so alarming given the proportional decline in the number of faithful in the dioceses mentioned, and whether these practices are in conformity with the Church's dispositions. The "clericalisation of the laity" leads to growing confusion among Catholics. For Vera Fides it is clear that "the weakening of the sacramentality of the Church does not imply a revitalisation of the Church". Vera Fides hopes for a correction of the situation in the three dioceses.

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