This Note from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (3 February 2024) comes in response to several situations where the words and gestures used in celebrating the sacraments have been substantially changed by the minister from those set out in the liturgically approved books. Where this has significantly changed what the Church lays down then the sacrament is considered invalid. This then has required the sacrament to be celebrated anew. Where people have been baptised invalidly their other sacramental celebrations have been invalid too and need to be celebrated anew. This has had serious consequences for those who have subsequently celebrated any other sacrament, viz. Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, and have had to ask for them to be celebrated again.
Ministers may well have acted in good faith to make the liturgy more comprehensible, more accessible but where they have gone beyond what is permissible it shows the need for greater liturgical formation. There is also concern that some ministers and communities may have made changes based on subjective feelings or personal ideologies. [n3]
We must always remember that the Church is the primary sacrament of Christ in the world, and that is celebrated in the sacraments entrusted to her and which she shares as treasure with God’s people.[n.7]
The Church has “the duty to ensure the priority of God’s action and to safeguard the unity of the Body of Christ in those actions which have no equal because they are sacred “par excellence” with an efficacy guaranteed by priestly action of Christ.[n.10] Just as the Church has recognised what is the canon of Sacred Scripture so too she assisted by the Holy Spirit, recognises these sacramental signs through which Christ bestows the grace that flows from Easter, determining their number and indicating, for each of them, the essential elements.” [n.11]
The Note then discusses the more technical issues of matter and form of the sacrament [nn13ff] and later addresses what we mean by the intention of the minister. The liturgical texts following the Council already offer scope for adaptation at local and national level. This freedom is given for ministers to use within the liturgical texts which ensure that the minister acts in the person of Christ and in the name of the Church. It is not about rigid uniformity but rather ensuring the unity of the Church.
Identifying this problem emphasises the urgency to develop a mature “ars celebrandi”, how we should celebrate liturgy. It is not about a rigid rubricism, but a “discipline” [as Romano Guardini describes] that forms us through gestures and words enabling the community to celebrate involving our whole selves.
This great treasure of the sacraments is entrusted to the Church, especially to her ministers [II Cor 4:7]. She is called to take the greatest care to ensure that this gift of salvation, Christ crucified and risen, is made accessible to every human being. Aware of our own human weaknesses the ministers of the Church must nourish the people of God with the riches of the Word and sanctify them with the grace of the Sacraments. This calls for a living and beautiful celebration of the liturgy. [n.28]