Scottish archbishop tells Catholics not to kneel for communion

The Archbishop of Glasgow, Scotland has told Catholics in his archdiocese not to kneel to receive communion.

“The
Faithful should follow the General Instruction of the Roman Missal,
namely coming to communion in procession and standing to receive Holy
Communion,” wrote Archbishop Mario Conti in a letter to all his priests,
dated August 25. 

“Standing in our Western culture is a mark of
respect: kneeling at the altar rails (where they continue to exist) is
not the practice envisaged by the instructions in the Missal,” he
stated.

The archbishop’s letter was issued ahead of the
introduction of the new translation of the Roman Missal, which comes
into effect throughout the English-speaking world this coming November.

Ironically,
his instruction comes only a year after Pope Benedict XVI celebrated
Mass in Glasgow. At that papal Mass, all those receiving communion from
the Pope did so kneeling on a pres-dieu.

“This is really awful,” one Glasgow priest, who wished to remain anonymous, wrote to CNA.

“The
bishop is indeed the moderator of the liturgical life of the diocese.
However, what concerns a number of the priests in Glasgow is that our
Archbishop knowingly exceeds his legitimate authority when he attempts
to remove liberties foreseen by the Roman Missal itself.”

The
General Instruction of the Roman Missal states that “the faithful
communicate either kneeling or standing, as determined by the Conference
of Bishops.” 

The Instruction adds, “(w)hen they communicate standing,
however, it is recommended that they make an appropriate sign of
reverence, as determined in the same norms, before receiving the
Sacrament.”

In 2002, then-Prefect of the Congregation for Divine
Worship, Cardinal Jorge Medina Estévez, attempted to clarify the issue
after receiving complaints from lay Catholics who were being refused
communion after kneeling to receive the host.

The Congregation,
he wrote in an open letter, “considers any refusal of Holy Communion to a
member of the faithful on the basis of his or her kneeling posture to
be a grave violation of one of the most basic rights of the Christian
faithful, namely that of being assisted by their Pastors by means of the
Sacraments (Codex Iuris Canonici, canon 213).”

He went on to add
that even when the Congregation has given its approval for a bishops’
conference to make a standing posture the norm, “it has done so with the
stipulation that communicants who choose to kneel are not to be denied
Holy Communion on these grounds.”

He also highlighted that
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, believed the
“centuries-old tradition” of kneeling to receive communion is a
“particularly expressive sign of adoration, completely appropriate in
light of the true, real and substantial presence of Our Lord Jesus
Christ under the consecrated species.”

Cardinal Estévez
concluded with a warning that “the Congregation will regard future
complaints of this nature with great seriousness” and, if those
complaints are verified, it would “seek disciplinary action consonant
with the gravity of the pastoral abuse.” 

“There is no question of
anybody being refused communion if they choose to kneel,” a spokesman
for the Archdiocese of Glasgow told CNA on Aug. 30.

“The purpose
of the bishop’s letter is to encourage, and certainly not diminish,
devotion to the Blessed Sacrament by reminding people of the need to
make an act of reverence before receiving Holy Communion standing and in
procession – which is the overwhelming custom in the diocese and the
rest of Europe.” 

The latest development is not first time that Archbishop Conti has made headlines for his stance on liturgical matters.

In
2007, he sent an advisory note to all his priests following the
publication of Pope Benedict’s document “Summorum Pontificum” on the
provision of the older Tridentine Rite in parishes. 

The archbishop’s
guidelines were dubbed the “coldest, most hostile I have read so far” by
the renowned Catholic blogger Fr. John Zuhlsdorf.

Archbishop
Conti turned 77-years-old earlier this year and has already handed in
his resignation to Pope Benedict. 

His replacement could be announced
within the next few months.

Source