Following the recent meeting of the Irish Bishop's Conference, the Catholic Church has issued a number of new guidelines in relation to the its position on mass offerings.
In its seven point guidelines, it says that the Eucharist should not be disrespected or undermined in any mass offerings.
Furthermore, it points out that mass offerings should never be, “an occasion for buying or selling” or, making money nor should there be the slightest appearance of making profit from mass offerings.
The new guidelines also stipulate that in most cases, a mass is celebrated for each individual offering received, however small, and the amount of the offering is up to the donor to decide.
Because the donor sometimes asks the priest for the suggested amount of the offering, a current recommended diocesan offering will be specified.
The priest is also asked to celebrate the mass within a reasonable time of receiving the mass offering and is only permitted to celebrate one mass each day for offerings received.
If he has too many masses to celebrate, he is asked to pass this offering on to another priest.
The Bishops’ Conference has also asked that the sale of signed or stamped Mass cards in shops be discontinued “as it undermines a correct Eucharist theology.”
The guidelines also say that, where it is possible, the donor should participate in the mass and that the intention of the person for whom the mass is been offered be mentioned in the prayers of the faithful.
The guidelines also mention that church norms and regulations about mass offerings are clearly set out in the 1983 Code of Canon Law and in the 1991 Decree Mos iugiter.
SIC: CIN/IE
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