From Wikimedia Commons/Author Zkoty1953
2-1. John Paul II spoke out against laity distributing Holy Communion
"We ask and repeat that no one handle in unconsecrated hands the Body of My Son! It will be defiled and discarded, unless only a legally-ordained priest, a man of God, with purified fingers of the Holy Spirit, give the Body and Blood of My Son to each one under his care."
- The Bayside Prophecies
Our Lady of the Roses, September 6, 1975
Zenit reported on September 23, 2002 of the Holy Father’s concern that much of the laity have become confused in their role, and warns of the attempts to clericalize the laity:
"… in the years following the Council, in order to fulfill this desire, the confusion of functions in regard to the priestly ministry and role of the laity was arbitrarily extended," he explained.
Symptoms of this confusion are "the indiscriminate and common recitation of the Eucharistic Prayer," "homilies given by lay people" and the "distribution of Communion by the laity."
These "grave abuses often originated in doctrinal errors, especially in regard to the nature of the liturgy, of the common priesthood of Christians, of the vocation and mission of the laity, but also in regard to the ordained ministry of priests," the Pope stressed.
The Holy Father said that one of the consequences of this phenomenon is "the lack of observance of certain ecclesiastical laws and norms, the arbitrary interpretation of the concept of 'substitution,' the tendency to 'clericalize' the laity, etc." (Pope John Paul II, September 23, 2002)
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We should all recall that belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament has been attacked throughout the history of the Church, especially during the Protestant revolution. In response to the numerous false teachings of the Protestants, the Council of Trent made this declaration on the distribution of Holy Communion:
"To omit nothing doctrinal on so important a subject [the Holy Eucharist], we now come to speak of the minister of the Sacrament, a point, however, on which scarcely anyone is ignorant. The pastor then will teach, that to priests alone has been given power to consecrate and administer the Holy Eucharist. That the unvarying practice of the Church has also been, that the faithful receive the Sacrament from the hand of the priest, and that the priest communicate himself, has been explained by the Council of Trent; and the same holy Council has shown that this practice is always to be scrupulously adhered to, stamped, as it is, with the authoritative impress of Apostolic tradition, and sanctioned by the illustrious example of our Lord himself, who, with His own hands, consecrated and gave to His disciples, His most sacred body. To consult as much as possible, for the dignity of this so August a Sacrament, not only is its administration confided exclusively to the priestly order; but the Church has also, by an express law, prohibited any but those who are consecrated to religion, unless in case of necessity, to touch the sacred vessels, the linen or other immediate necessaries for consecration. Priest and people may hence learn, what piety and holiness they should possess who consecrate, administer, or receive the Holy of Holies." (Council of Trent, Session 13, Chapter 8)
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