Vatican rejection of lay preaching causes disquiet in Germany. Cardinal Kasper complicit in the subversion of Rome. Cardinal Roche, for once, does the right thing.
A predictable rejection: Why the Vatican doesn't allow lay preaching
The German bishops wanted to advocate for lay preaching. It was to no avail: The Dicastry for the Liturgy rejected the request – and made clear where it sees the place of lay people in the liturgy.
It was one of the central points at his second press conference as the new chairman of the German Bishops' Conference (DBK): He wanted to advocate in Rome for permission for lay preaching at Eucharistic celebrations, Bishop Heiner Wilmer said in February. “We agreed that I would bring this up with me on my next visit to Rome and explain it again in person, advocating for it.” To this end, the plenary assembly adopted a specific regulation for preaching, for which Vatican approval was to be requested.
Cardinal Arthur Roche, Prefect of the Congregation for the Liturgy, informed Wilmer of the response to this request in a letter dated June 17, which has now been published: “Lay believers may not preach during the Eucharist at the point designated for the homily.”
The Vatican's response, however, is unlikely to come as a surprise. As early as March 2023, Roche had emphasized in a letter to the then-President of the German Bishops' Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing, that there was no room for lay preaching during the Eucharist. There have been no indications of any relaxation of this rule since then.
Cardinal Arthur Roche, Prefect of the Congregation for the Liturgy, informed Wilmer of his response in a letter dated June 17, which has now been published. Lay preaching was already possible once before.
The impetus for the letter was the decision of the Synodal Path of the Church in Germany. At the fifth Synodal Assembly in March 2023, the synod members adopted the policy document "Proclamation of the Gospel by Lay People in Word and Sacrament." Its core principle: To increase the number of women preaching and to enhance its significance and quality, the bishops are to develop a particular norm and obtain permission for it from the Holy See. "The homily is an integral part of the Mass and has a sacramental dimension," the resolution states. "However, this does not preclude other full-time and appropriately trained individuals from also assuming the ministry of preaching during Mass, in addition to priests and deacons."
In his letter to Prefect of the Liturgy Roche in March 2026, Wilmer reminded him that the requirement for lay preaching during the Eucharist was not new, but had already been part of a preaching order issued by the German bishops in 1974. With this, the German bishops had implemented a requirement of the Würzburg Synod (1971–1974). "This preaching order had the approval of the Holy See from 1974 until the promulgation of the Code of Canon Law in 1983," Wilmer argued.
Following the Würzburg Synod, the bishops drafted a preaching order that permitted lay preaching. The Code of Canon Law of 1983 revoked this possibility.
However, the new Code of Canon Law restricted this preaching order. Therefore, in 1988, the Bishops' Conference issued a new order, which remains in effect today. This stipulates that, in exceptional cases and with the bishop's approval, laypeople with appropriate qualifications may preach during the Eucharist – but not after the Gospel, rather as a station at the beginning of the service.
It is also part of the story that, subsequently, some very creative ways were found in German dioceses to circumvent these canonical regulations. In the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, for example, the Diocesan Council unanimously adopted a guideline entitled "The Extraordinary Preaching Ministry of Lay People in the Eucharist" in 1999. The then-Bishop Walter Kasper "approved" the regulation without ever formally enacting it or having it published in the official church gazette. This regulation is incompatible with the universal Church's guidelines. “Nevertheless, the lay homily, which is taken for granted in the Diocese, is understood and communicated as a legitimate practice,” writes canon lawyer Bernhard Sven Anuth in an article for the diocesan legal code.
Word and Sacrament inextricably linked
The regulation introduced in 1988 has “not proven effective in pastoral-liturgical practice,” Wilmer wrote in his letter to Roche. “The sermon at this point in the liturgical sequence disrupts the order, refers to Scripture readings that follow, and thus appears as a curious anomaly.” According to the bishops, lay people should be able to deliver the sermon instead of the homily after the Gospel. This request for an indult was to be supported by a four-page letter.
However, these arguments did not gain traction at the Vatican. Roche reiterates the provision of the Code of Canon Law (Canon 767 § 1), which stipulates that the homily—as an integral part of the liturgy—is reserved for a priest or deacon. This canonical norm is not merely disciplinary in nature; Word and Sacrament are inextricably linked in the celebration of the Eucharist. "Since reserving the homily for the ordained minister belongs to the sacramental and liturgical structure of the Eucharistic celebration itself, no dispensation by indult can be granted regarding the norm established in Canon 767 § 1, even in the presence of serious pastoral considerations," Roche stated.
Preparing and delivering the homily constitutes an "integral part of the priest's priestly ministry and spirituality," the Prefect for Liturgy writes. "Accordingly, criteria such as superior theological preparation or communication skills on the part of the lay faithful—however valuable these may be in themselves—cannot justify entrusting the homily to them." In cases of doubt, therefore, ordination takes precedence over theological competence. Roche rejects the idea of allowing the laity to deliver a "sermon" after the Gospel—as opposed to the "homily."
Nor does Roche see any "genuine pastoral emergency" that would justify deviating from the established norm. "In fact, the rule is: wherever a priest is present to celebrate the Eucharist, he is thereby also present to exercise the ministry of the homily, which belongs to him by virtue of his ordination." Possible physical impairments of a celebrant that would make delivering the homily difficult are described as "merely occasional and time-limited circumstances" that do not constitute grounds for a pastoral emergency. Furthermore: "Where no priest is available, no Eucharistic celebration takes place."
Scope for proclamation by the laity
Roche’s response clarifies where the Vatican sees a role for the laity in proclamation: outside the Eucharistic celebration. At the end of his letter, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship lists a "wide spectrum of possibilities" for lay involvement: "These include, for example, catechesis (cf. can. 774 § 1), religious instruction, spiritual talks or theological conferences, days of recollection and retreats, as well as personal testimonies and various pastoral gatherings." Laypeople could also be entrusted with the ministry of proclamation within the context of Celebrations of the Word. Roche also envisions lay collaboration in the preparation of the homily. "Such collaboration, when appropriately fostered, enriches the ordained ministers themselves while respecting the respective roles proper to each state of life."
While the Dicastery for Divine Worship thus adheres to the form of proclamation established in canon law, a study group is working on the topic of "Liturgy from a Synodal Perspective" as part of the Synod on Synodality. This study group was established by Pope Francis and stems from the Synod’s final document. In that document, the authors drew a connection between the synodal assembly and the Eucharistic celebration and called for the creation of this very study group. According to the final document, the group could also "address the topic of preaching within liturgical celebrations, as well as the development of catechesis on synodality from a mystagogical perspective."
In its interim report issued in November, the study group merely outlined the questions it intends to address. One of these questions is: "How can the forms of liturgical proclamation be reinterpreted from a synodal perspective? How can their quality be improved? How can the development of a mystagogical catechesis on the subject of synodality be fostered?" A final report from the group coordinated by the Dicastery for Divine Worship is still pending.
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