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''Spiritus Domini'' is an
apostolic letter Ecclesiastical letters are publications or announcements of the organs of Roman Catholic ecclesiastical authority, e.g. the synods, but more particularly of pope and bishops, addressed to the faithful in the form of letters. Letters of the pop ...
in the form of a ''
motu proprio In law, ''motu proprio'' (Latin for "on his own impulse") describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term '' sua sponte'' for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a d ...
'' by
Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...
signed on 10 January 2021 and released the next day. It changed the 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' to allow women to be admitted to the
instituted ministries In the Catholic Church the term minister enjoys a variety of usages. It most commonly refers to the person, whether lay or ordained, who is commissioned to perform some act on behalf of the Catholic Church. It is not a particular office or rank o ...
of
acolyte An acolyte is an assistant or follower assisting the celebrant in a religious service or procession. In many Christian denominations, an acolyte is anyone performing ceremonial duties such as lighting altar candles. In others, the term is used f ...
and
lector Lector is Latin for one who reads, whether aloud or not. In modern languages it takes various forms, as either a development or a loan, such as french: lecteur, en, lector, pl, lektor and russian: лектор. It has various specialized uses. ...
(reader), which had until then been exclusively available to men.


Background

Since the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
, the bishops of the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
have permitted women to serve in many
lay Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune * Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village * Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) ...
ministries. While the offices of
lector Lector is Latin for one who reads, whether aloud or not. In modern languages it takes various forms, as either a development or a loan, such as french: lecteur, en, lector, pl, lektor and russian: лектор. It has various specialized uses. ...
(reader) and
acolyte An acolyte is an assistant or follower assisting the celebrant in a religious service or procession. In many Christian denominations, an acolyte is anyone performing ceremonial duties such as lighting altar candles. In others, the term is used f ...
were previously
minor orders Minor orders are ranks of church ministry. In the Catholic Church, the predominating Latin Church formerly distinguished between the major orders —priest (including bishop), deacon and subdeacon—and four minor orders—acolyte, exorcist, lec ...
, with '' Ministeria quaedam'',
Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...
abolished these and the
subdiaconate Subdeacon (or sub-deacon) is a minor order or ministry for men in various branches of Christianity. The subdeacon has a specific liturgical role and is placed between the acolyte (or reader) and the deacon in the order of precedence. Subdeacons i ...
, creating "
instituted ministries In the Catholic Church the term minister enjoys a variety of usages. It most commonly refers to the person, whether lay or ordained, who is commissioned to perform some act on behalf of the Catholic Church. It is not a particular office or rank o ...
" in their stead. Paul VI wrote in ''Ministeria quaedam'' that " accordance with the ancient tradition of the Church, institution to the ministries of reader and acolyte is reserved to men." The two instituted ministries of lector and acolyte were restricted to men, and in many dioceses, reserved to those preparing for the priesthood in seminaries. In other dioceses, they were conferred on lay men who had been serving in these roles. With the 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'', the situation changed: men and women could take those roles, but women could only take them temporarily (i.e. women could not be instituted). In 1994, the
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments it, Dicastero per il Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti , type = Dicastery , seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg , seal_size = 100px , seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See , logo = , p ...
under
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
clarified that the §2 of the canon 230 of the 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' said that it was also licit for women and girls to be
altar servers An altar server is a lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian liturgy. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell, helps bring up the gifts, brings up the boo ...
just as men and boys already were, but that those women and girls were not to get the benefit of their position being instituted ministries. "In most dioceses around the world — and at the
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
as well — women and girls have been lectors at Mass and have served at the altar for decades. That service was possible, not as a formally instituted ministry, but under the terms of Canon 230, paragraph 2, which allowed for women or men to carry out the functions 'by temporary designation.


Change

The ''
motu proprio In law, ''motu proprio'' (Latin for "on his own impulse") describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term '' sua sponte'' for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a d ...
'' was signed on 10 January 2021 (the feast of the
Baptism of the Lord The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, or Theophany, is the feast day commemorating the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. Originally the baptism of Christ was celebrated on Epiphany, which commemorates the coming of the M ...
), and released on 11 January 2021; it changes the 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' ( canon 230 §1) to state that the
instituted ministries In the Catholic Church the term minister enjoys a variety of usages. It most commonly refers to the person, whether lay or ordained, who is commissioned to perform some act on behalf of the Catholic Church. It is not a particular office or rank o ...
of
acolyte An acolyte is an assistant or follower assisting the celebrant in a religious service or procession. In many Christian denominations, an acolyte is anyone performing ceremonial duties such as lighting altar candles. In others, the term is used f ...
and
lector Lector is Latin for one who reads, whether aloud or not. In modern languages it takes various forms, as either a development or a loan, such as french: lecteur, en, lector, pl, lektor and russian: лектор. It has various specialized uses. ...
are open to " lay persons", i.e. both men and women, instead of previously "lay men". This change, Francis says, acknowledges a " doctrinal development" that has occurred in recent years. Canon 230 §1 of the ''Code of Canon Law'' reads with this change: "Lay persons of suitable age and with the gifts determined by decree of the
Episcopal Conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...
may be permanently assigned, by means of the established liturgical rite, to the ministries of lectors and acolytes". Previously, it read: "Lay men who possess the age and qualifications established by decree of the conference of bishops can be admitted on a stable basis through the prescribed liturgical rite to the ministries of lector and acolyte". Pope Francis also wrote a letter to cardinal
Luis Ladaria Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer (born 19 April 1944) is a Spanish Jesuit, theologian and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. After a thirty-year career teaching theology, he joined the Roman Curia in 2004 as Secretary-General of the Internationa ...
, prefect of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsib ...
, to explain his decision. In it, Francis says the
Amazon synod The Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region (), commonly referred to as the Amazon synod (), met in Rome from 6 to 27 October 2019. Pope Francis announced on 15 October 2017 that a special assembly of the Synod of Bishops would work "to ident ...
marked the necessity to think about "new paths for ecclesial ministeriality," not only for the Amazonian Church, but for the whole Catholic Church in variety of situations. He also states concerning John Paul II's affirmation of the inability of the Catholic Church to ordain women: "for non-ordained ministries it is possible, and today appears opportune, to go beyond that reservation."


Reactions

Peter M.J. Stravinskas, a priest and writer of the Catholic World Report, criticized the document, saying that it would spread confusion among the faithful and contradicted prior Catholic teachings of '' Christifideles laici'' and the ''Instruction on Certain Questions Regarding the Collaboration of the Non-Ordained Faithful in the Sacred Ministry of the Priest''. According to Thomas O'Loughlin, the document is "a very interesting small brick in his larger
pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depict ...
edifice dedicated to implementing the reforms mandated over half a century ago by the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
"; he adds that this ''motu proprio'' has made
canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is t ...
"catch up to the urrent
theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...
."


Aftermath

On 23 January 2022, Pope Francis installed for the first time women as instituted lectors and catechists. On this day, Pope Francis held a ceremony during which he installed six women as institutional lectors, and three women as institutional catechists, along with some men.


See also

* * Priesthood of all believers


References


External links

* {{Lay Cath Spirituality, state=collapsed Apostolic letters Motu proprio of Pope Francis 2021 in Christianity Catholic liturgical law