MyCatholicSource.com - 'Quick Help' Page: Harm/Dangers/Concerns Associated With 'Lay Ministers Of Holy Communion'

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There are many harms / dangers / concerns regarding 'lay ministers of Holy Communion' (more properly called 'extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist'). For example...

(1) The practice began in the 20th century as a result of disobedience to the Pope

(2) Their use has contributed to irreverence, loss of faith, confusion of the priestly role, desecration, and sacrilege and is a radical break with Catholic tradition which coincides with Protestant sensibilities

(3) The Church has always prohibited lay persons from touching the Sacred Species...

"To touch the sacred species and to distribute them with their own hands is a privilege of the ordained" (Pope John Paul II, 1980 A.D.)

"[L]aymen are officially incompetent to dispense any sacrament: and that they can baptize in cases of necessity, is due to the Divine dispensation, in order that no one may be deprived of spiritual regeneration." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the Church")

"There is nothing which belongs more to the Church and there is nothing Jesus Christ wanted more closely reserved for its shepherds than the dispensation of the sacraments He instituted." (Pope Gregory XVI, "Commissum Divinitus", 1835 A.D.)

"It must be taught, then, that to priests alone has been given power to consecrate and administer to the faithful, the Holy Eucharist. That this has been the unvarying practice of the Church, that the faithful should receive the Sacrament from the priests, and that the officiating priests should communicate themselves, has been explained by the holy Council of Trent, which has also shown that this practice, as having proceeded from Apostolic tradition, is to be religiously retained, particularly as Christ the Lord has left us an illustrious example thereof, having consecrated His own most sacred body, and given it to the Apostles with His own hands." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)

(4) This practice leads to additional handling of the Holy Eucharist (two additional people may now touch It - the lay 'minister' and the communicant) and therefore there is greater danger of spillage, profanation, and sacrilege

(5) This practice has lessened respect for the Holy Eucharist

(6) This practice diminishes respect for the priesthood by placing lay persons on the same level as priests with respect to distribution of the Holy Eucharist

(7) This practice leads to loss of faith in the Real Presence

(8) This practice reduces reverence and creates distractions, and is especially scandalous given the poor behavior, immodest dress & bad example of some 'extraordinary ministers'

(9) This practice leads to the deplorable situation of Holy Communion being taken to the sick by lay persons - thereby depriving the sick of the presence of the priest & the other sacraments in their critical hour of need - possibly leading to the loss of eternal souls!...

In addition to the many dangers of allowing lay persons to handle the Blessed Sacrament (including abuse & profanation of the Sacrament, blurring the distinction between priest and laity, etc.), there are special dangers in allowing lay persons to distribute Holy Communion to the sick. In fact, the practice may actually endanger the salvation of the sick person. Sadly, this practice occurs at a time when the person is most vulnerable and most in need of (and possibly most receptive to) a priest. Not only does the sick person encounter a lay person (that they might not even know) daring to handle Holy Communion, but his (or her) presence there serves to deprive him of the comfort of the priest and may lead his mind to various negative thoughts (e.g. "I'm not important enough for the priest", "the priest doesn't have time for me", etc.). Also, if lay persons bring the Blessed Sacrament, how can anyone ever be certain it is actually the Eucharist? Anyone - for whatever reason - could bring a wafer of bread and act as if it was the true Eucharist. Clearly, the priest alone is the most likely person to ensure the Sacrament is the true Eucharist. Further, the lay person's administration of Holy Communion may also make it difficult for the sick person to distinguish the Real Presence ("since it is given by a lay person, how can I be sure it is really the Blessed Sacrament"?) - and thereby the sick person may make a sacrilegious Communion, leading to his damnation...

"For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are ill and infirm, and a considerable number are dying." (St. Paul, 1 Cor. 11:29-30)

And if that wasn't bad enough, it should be noted that the sick person who is "passed off to a lay person" may be deprived of the other sacraments (e.g. Anointing, Penance) - which may be validly received only from the hands of a priest - when they are most necessary to his salvation.

"It is written (De Consecratione, distinction 12): 'It has come to our knowledge that some priests deliver the Lord's body to a layman or to a woman to carry it to the sick: The synod therefore forbids such presumption to continue; and let the priest himself communicate the sick.'" (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the Church")

Etc.

Did you know? Those wishing to avoid harmful post-Vatican II novelties (including 'lay ministers' handling the Blessed Sacrament) may, thanks be to God, still lawfully attend the Traditional Latin Mass. The Traditional Latin ('Tridentine') Mass differs from the 1960's Novus Ordo Mass in many & significant ways (try here for more information). To locate a Traditional Latin Mass in your area, try here.

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