Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen, Germany. / Nicole Cronauge/Bistum Essen.
Essen, Germany, Mar 15, 2022 / 06:00 am (CNA).
A German Catholic diocese has commissioned 17 women to administer baptisms, citing a shortfall in the number of priests.
The Diocese of Essen, in Germany’s industrial Ruhr area, is the first diocese in the country to commission a group of women to administer the sacrament, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.
Theresa Kohlmeyer, head of the department of faith, liturgy, and culture in the diocese, said that the step was necessary because there were “fewer priests than in the past.”
She added there was “a great need on the part of baptismal families for the most individual accompaniment and worship service possible.”
Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen explained that the decision to commission lay people — 17 women and one man — for a period of three years was a response to “a pastorally difficult situation.”
More than 2.5 million people live in the Essen diocese, 724,047 of whom are Catholic. It is the smallest diocese in Germany in terms of area.
— Franz-Josef Overbeck (@bischofoverbeck) March 14, 2022
Canon 861 of the Code of Canon Law says that “the ordinary minister of baptism is a bishop, a presbyter, or a deacon.”
It adds that “when an ordinary minister is absent or impeded, a catechist or another person designated for this function by the local ordinary, or in a case of necessity any person with the right intention, confers baptism licitly.”
Bishop Gebhard Fürst of Rottenburg-Stuttgart announced in March 2021 that he would look into the possibility of baptism by lay pastoral workers, establishing a working group.
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CNA Staff, Sep 4, 2020 / 04:34 pm (CNA).- An English bishop has encouraged Catholics to pray for the canonization of Mother Elizabeth Prout – a 19th-century religious sister who cared for the “most abandoned” of the Industrial Revolution in… […]
Pope Francis presides at the Vatican’s Easter Vigil, Saturday, March 30, 2024 / Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Rome Newsroom, Mar 30, 2024 / 17:22 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis on Saturday evening presided over the Easter Vigil Mass at Saint Peter’s Basilica, reflecting on the gravity of Easter as a symbol of God’s reborn hope and the ultimate testament of life over death.
There were some concerns on Friday night about the pope’s wellbeing after the Holy Father canceled his attendance at Rome’s Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) at the last minute. The Holy See Press Office said the pope made the decision “to conserve his health” for the lengthy Easter Vigil liturgy.
“This is the Pasch of Christ, the revelation of God’s power: The victory of life over death, the triumph of light over darkness, the rebirth of hope amid the ruins of failure. It is the Lord, the God of the impossible, who rolled away the stone forever,” the pope said on Saturday in front of nearly 6,000 faithful gathered in Saint Peter’s Basilica.
Pope Francis celebrates the Vatican’s Easter Vigil, Saturday, March 30, 2024. Daniel Ibanez/CNA
“He is the one who brings us from darkness into light, who is bound to us forever, who rescues us from the abyss of sin and death, and draws us into the radiant realm of forgiveness and eternal life,” the pope continued in his homily.
The dramatic liturgy opened with Saint Peter’s Basilica shrouded in darkness. The Holy Father was positioned in front of the 15th century Filarete Door (covered in a white curtain and an embroidered tapestry of the resurrected Christ).
The pope inscribed a cross and the alpha and omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet) on the white paschal candle, symbolizing Christ’s resurrection and the Christian hope of a new life in him.
Processing up the central nave of the basilica, a deacon carried the candle, pausing and chanting at three different times “Lumen Christi” (Light of Christ) to which the congregation responded “Deo Gratias” (Thanks be to God).
The paschal candle is processed at the Vatican’s Easter Vigil, Saturday, March 30, 2024. Daniel Ibanez/CNA
This moment was followed by the chanting of the Exultet, or the Easter proclamation, an ancient prayer which invites the faithful to join the church in celebrating Christ’s resurrection.
Pope Francis opened his homily by reflecting on the anguish and consternation of the women depicted in the Gospel who with “the tears of Good Friday … not yet dried” approached the tomb that had been obstructed with a stone.
“That stone, an overwhelming obstacle, symbolized what the women felt in their hearts. It represented the end of their hopes, now dashed by the obscure and sorrowful mystery that put an end to their dreams.”
“That stone marked the end of Jesus’ story, now buried in the night of death. He, the life that came into the world, had been killed,” the pope continued.
Clergy and visitors assemble at the Vatican’s Easter Vigil, Saturday, March 30, 2024. Daniel Ibanez/CNA
But, the pope noted, the women, upon casting their gazes upward, found the stone rolled away, a moment showcasing “the victory of life over death, the triumph of light over darkness, the rebirth of hope amid the ruins of failure.”
The pope related the initial anguish, and hope, of the women present at the sepulchre, noting that today we each “encounter such ‘tombstones’ on our journey through life in all the experiences and situations that rob us of enthusiasm and of the strength to persevere.”
Yet the pope implored the faithful to not succumb to despondency but instead draw hope from the resurrection.
“If we allow Jesus to take us by the hand, no experience of failure or sorrow, however painful, will have the last word on the meaning and destiny of our lives. Henceforth, if we allow ourselves to be raised up by the Risen Lord, no setback, no suffering, no death will be able to halt our progress towards the fullness of life.”
“Then no stone will block the way to our hearts, no tomb will suppress the joy of life, no failure will doom us to despair,” the pope continued. “Let us lift our eyes to him and ask that the power of his resurrection may roll away the heavy stones that weigh down our souls.”
Following a brief moment of reflection at the end of the homily, Pope Francis opened up the baptismal rite. With the blessing of the water, and a public recitation of vows, the Holy Father personally baptized eight adults: four Italians, two Koreans, a Japanese man, and an Albanian.
While Vladimir Putin appears hellbent to destroy Ukraine, Germany’s Catholic bishops appear hellbent to destroy Catholicism.
Vladimir initially demanded Ukraine neutrality as the sole requirement to avoid Russian incursion to enforce its will. That, since Nato, US, Ukraine rejection of a singular premise has, since Russia’s invasion regressed to further demands that would reduce Ukraine to a subservient vassal.
Vladimir Putin, visibly isolated, showing signs of paranoia, is in this writer’s opinion quite dangerous. A direct intervention [no fly zone] into Ukraine by Nato, the previously unthinkable, is actually being proposed. Winds of [world] war increase [credentialed pundits arguing cause for just war] as does a sense of inevitability.
Germany in contrast appears happily sauntering on the rosy path of SynodalWaywardness. An epiphany of freedom from rigidity [the Germans, by indication, have the support of a powerful opponent of rigidity]. A reformation absent of peasant revolt [except revulsion by the few faithful], free of garroting and stabbing of the insolent by the Princes. No fiery Luther. As if momentous crisis a hundred or more miles east were light years distant, as if a welcome cover for iniquity. After all, if we really believe in Christ’s words and actions that’s what it is.
Double pronged attack wasn’t invented by Schlieffen. It’s ancient. In this instance it has the earmark of the diabolic. Why Major Archbishop Shevchuk is on the mark about an evil spirit hovering over ravaged Ukraine.
Here, in the modern cradle of democracy the political climate has radically changed toward a socialist autocracy ironically similar to the iron fisted autocracy of the former Soviet Union, and the death dealing mentality of the former KGB operative that now rules Russia.
What can save us, Lord? If not a fervent appeal for the angels of peace and justice to dispel the evil.
While Vladimir Putin appears hellbent to destroy Ukraine, Germany’s Catholic bishops appear hellbent to destroy Catholicism.
Vladimir initially demanded Ukraine neutrality as the sole requirement to avoid Russian incursion to enforce its will. That, since Nato, US, Ukraine rejection of a singular premise has, since Russia’s invasion regressed to further demands that would reduce Ukraine to a subservient vassal.
Vladimir Putin, visibly isolated, showing signs of paranoia, is in this writer’s opinion quite dangerous. A direct intervention [no fly zone] into Ukraine by Nato, the previously unthinkable, is actually being proposed. Winds of [world] war increase [credentialed pundits arguing cause for just war] as does a sense of inevitability.
Germany in contrast appears happily sauntering on the rosy path of SynodalWaywardness. An epiphany of freedom from rigidity [the Germans, by indication, have the support of a powerful opponent of rigidity]. A reformation absent of peasant revolt [except revulsion by the few faithful], free of garroting and stabbing of the insolent by the Princes. No fiery Luther. As if momentous crisis a hundred or more miles east were light years distant, as if a welcome cover for iniquity. After all, if we really believe in Christ’s words and actions that’s what it is.
Double pronged attack wasn’t invented by Schlieffen. It’s ancient. In this instance it has the earmark of the diabolic. Why Major Archbishop Shevchuk is on the mark about an evil spirit hovering over ravaged Ukraine.
Here, in the modern cradle of democracy the political climate has radically changed toward a socialist autocracy ironically similar to the iron fisted autocracy of the former Soviet Union, and the death dealing mentality of the former KGB operative that now rules Russia.
What can save us, Lord? If not a fervent appeal for the angels of peace and justice to dispel the evil.
Actually. Frontier to frontier Germany is 400 miles from Ukraine.