The Dicasterio for the clergy has published this Sunday a decree signed by Pope Francis in which the regulations on the offerings that the faithful perform when asking for a Mass for an intention are updated.
This type of donations are regulated in the decree Will regularlypublished by the then congregation for the clergy in 1991, to “guarantee justice.”
Receive the main news of ACI Press by WhatsApp and Telegram
It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social networks. Subscribe to our free channels today:
The new norms published today by the Vatican establish that only in cases where donors have been duly informed and have expressed their agreement, “several offerings can be collected for a single celebration of the Mass.”
In this context, they emphasize that “it is lawful for any priest who celebrates the Mass to receive the offering delivered to apply the Mass according to a certain intention”, although they ask not to accumulate the money and donate it to the needy parishes.
In addition, this celebration should not be daily, to avoid creating a common practice and to maintain the character of exceptionality.
The decree published today by the Vatican clarifies that these alms should not be understood as a “sale” and that “trade with sacred things” should be avoided.
The text also makes the difference between a mass that is celebrated by a particular intention and a simple memory during a certain moments of the Eucharist. In the latter case, they underline, receiving the offering would be “severely illicit.”
To avoid the risk of this practice becoming something commercial, the Clergy dicastery insists that there should be no “rates” for the celebration of the sacraments.
In this way, the document underlines, the most needy would not be discriminated, who could be “deprived of the help of the sacraments because of their poverty.”
The decree refers to the code of Canon law and urges to take action and promote training in this area.
The Dicasterio for the clergy states that “it will promote a study of praxis as well as current regulations, with a view to verifying its application and, where appropriate, updating,” reads the decree.
Almudena Martínez-Bordiú
Graduated in journalism and advertising from the CEU San Pablo University of Madrid. Specialized in religious information in Spain since 2015. It has been a senior correspondent for ACI Press and Ewtn News at the Vatican for two years and is currently a correspondent for Europe based on Spain.