PREACHING, IV (CANON LAW OF)

The 1983 Code of canon law treats the topic of preaching in Book III, "The Teaching Office of the Church." In that Book, preaching is treated as one facet of Title I, "The Ministry of the Divine Word." The other facet of Ministry of the Divine Word is catechetical instruction. However, there are references to preaching in other canons of Book III and in other sections of the Code, all indicating that the activity of preaching has several forms and various levels of relationship to the teaching authority of the Church. The most fundamental level of preaching is entrusted to the whole Church; that is, every member of the Christian faithful, by reason of baptism. A second level of preaching pertains to the ordained; bishop, priest or deacon, by reason of ordination. A third level of preaching is that undertaken by laity at the specific invitation of the ordained.

Preaching Entrusted to All the Baptized. The Code, reflecting the teaching of Vatican II, acknowledges the responsibility of all the baptized to preach the Gospel through the witness of their lives. This obligation, explicit throughout Chapter II of Lumen gentium, is implied in canon 204 which states that all who are baptized share "in their own way" in the priestly, prophetic and royal functions of Christ, and are called to exercise the mission of the Church "in accord with the condition proper to each." Canon 204 has its roots in Lumen gentium. This implication of the baptismal obligation to preach is repeated in canons 208, on the equality of all the baptized in dignity and action as they carry out the mission of the Church, and 211 on the right and obligation of all the Christian faithful to evangelize.

The obligation of all the baptized to preach the Gospel message is stated explicitly in canon 747, the opening canon of Book III, and again in canon 759. This most fundamental form of preaching is proper to all Christians and requires no permission or authorization from the hierarchy.

Preaching Entrusted to the Ordained. For the ordained—bishops, priests and deacons—preaching can take on a number of forms and purposes. For instance, the preaching done by bishops can be directly related to their role as teachers of the faith, while the preaching done by priests or deacons is not seen as an action of magisterial teachers. For all the ordained, preaching can take on a catechetical or liturgical character, depending on the context within which it is done.

Some norms on preaching are applicable to all the ordained. First, all the ordained are reminded in canon 762 that their principal duty is to proclaim the Gospel. Thus, preaching must be held in great esteem. This emphasis is placed on preaching because of the value of the Word of God for the community of believers as the cause of their gathering and their source of ongoing strength. As the canon states, "the people of God are first brought together by the word of the living God." The canon concludes with the statement, taken from the Presbyterorum ordinis 4, that the people rightly have the expectation to hear this word of God from the ordained.

Canon 768 provides guidance for the content of preaching, first in general and then more particularly. In general, preaching is intended to proclaim to the Faithful what must be done and believed "for the glory of God and the salvation of humanity." More specifically, preaching is to present magisterial doctrine on the "the dignity and freedom of the human person, the unity and stability of family and its duties, the obligations which people have from being joined together in society, and the ordering of temporal affairs according to the plan established by God." This canon is derived from Christus Dominus 12, on the preaching responsibilities of bishops, and from Gaudium et spes 40–42, which describes the vital relationship between the Church and the world and between faith and life. Together these sources provide a rich theological foundation for understanding preaching as the ministry which aims to make the Word of God active in the hearer.

The canon that follows (canon 769), builds on this goal of preaching to relate faith and life, by stipulating that Christian doctrine, that which is preached, is to be accommodated to its hearers and adapted to the needs of the times. This same theme is emphasized again in canon 770 which directs bishops and pastors to arrange for other forms of preaching in their respective dioceses of parishes, namely spiritual exercises or missions which meet the needs of their people. Then canon 771 widens the circle of concern by obliging all "pastors of souls," that is, bishops and priests, to have concern that the word of God reaches both those who do not present themselves for ordinary pastoral care and those in the territory who are not believers in Christ.

Also applicable to all the ordained is canon 767 on the homily. The homily, described by the canon as preeminent among all forms of preaching and an integral part of the liturgy, "is reserved to the priest or deacon." The homily, according to the canon, is rooted in Scripture and is an explanation of "the mysteries of faith and the norms of Christian life." Homilies are required at all Sunday celebrations and holy days of obligation when a congregation is present, unless a "grave cause" indicates otherwise (canon 767 § 2). Homilies are recommended at all other masses when people are present, especially during Advent and Lent (canon 767 § 3). Responsibility for seeing that these directives are observed falls to the pastor or rector of a church (canon 767 § 4).

Norms Specific to Bishops. The 1983 Code contains norms on preaching which apply only to bishops. They, in virtue of their role in the Church, have a right (ius ) to preach everywhere in the world, "including churches and oratories of religious houses of pontifical rite." In his own diocese an individual bishop may prevent another bishop from preaching, but this must be done explicitly and for a particular instance (canon 763).

Further, bishops are directed to preach frequently in person and propose in their preaching the truths of the faith and how those truths of the faith and how those truths are to inform Christian living. Lastly, bishops are obliged to oversee the proper implementation of the law concerning all aspects of the Ministry of the Word, especially homilies (canon 386 § 1).

Norms Specific to Priests. While bishops have a right to preach everywhere in the world, priests are given, in the law, the faculty to preach everywhere in the world. This faculty to preach may be restricted by the appropriate authority with respect to the person or with respect to certain territory (see canon 764). The exception to this world-wide faculty is that permission from the appropriate religious superior is required for a priest to preach to members of a religious institute in the institute's own church or oratory (canon 765).

Priests who are pastors of parishes are specially charged with the obligation of preaching to their people on the sacrament of marriage so that "the matrimonial state is preserved in a Christian spirit and advances in perfection" (canon 1063, 1°).

Norms Specific to Deacons. Deacons, similarly to priests, are given, by the law itself, the faculty to preach everywhere in the world. Deacons are subject to the same restrictions and permissions stipulated for priests in canons 764 and 765.

Preaching Entrusted to Laity. The 1917 Code was quite specific in stating that laity, even religious, were not permitted to preach in churches (1917 Code, canon 1342). The documents of Vatican II, specifically the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, n. 35, directed that in areas of the world where priests were not available, bishops should appoint deacons or lay persons to conduct "Bible services." This directive was implemented by the instruction Inter oecumenici (issued September 26, 1964) which indicated that such Bible services could be presided over by deacons or laity, but only a presiding deacon, with proper permission, could preach. Both these documents are the indicated sources for canon 766 of the 1983 Code which states that lay persons are permitted to preach in churches or oratories "if necessity requires it, in certain circumstances or it seems advantageous in particular cases." The canon also stipulates that in every country, lay preaching is regulated by norms issued by the conference of bishops, "without prejudice to canon 767 § 1." That is, the homily is reserved to the priest or deacon.

Much of the discussion and development concerning lay preaching has revolved, not around canon 766 itself, which states the acceptability of lay preaching, but around canon 767 which excludes laity from preaching homilies. An early difficulty arose from a lack of consistency in the wording of canon 767 itself. The first paragraph of the canon refers to the homily at "liturgy," while subsequent paragraphs refer to the homily at "Mass." For any interpretation of the canon, the latter wording indicates the exclusion of laity from preaching at Eucharistic celebrations, while the former wording calls for wider application to all liturgical celebrations. A number of official documents issued subsequent to the 1983 Code indicate that the canon applies only to preaching at Mass. For instance, the Directory for Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest (issued May 21, 1988) and the interdicastery instruction "Some Questions Regarding Collaboration of the Nonordained Faithful in Priests' Sacred Ministry" (issued August 14, 1997) refer to laity preaching in at non-Eucharistic services. However, even these documents have not been entirely consistent, since the latter refers to laity giving "homilies" at non-Eucharistic liturgies, which seems to contradict the wording and intent of canon 767 to restrict homilies to the ordained.

A second area of difficulty over the relationship of canons 766 and 767 came in the early years of the implementation of the 1983 Code. Because the restriction of the homily to the priest or deacon stated in canon 767 was considered to be a disciplinary norm, diocesan bishops felt free to dispense from the norm, according to the common understanding of their dispensing power, thereby allowing laity to preach. An authentic interpretation of the law was issued on May 26, 1987 [see AAS 79 (1987) 1249] which stated that such dispensations were not permitted to bishops.

This authentic interpretation and continued effort to implement canon 766 has given rise to further discussion on the nature of the homily and the meaning of its restriction to the ordained. It leaves open the question whether the homily is to be defined by its content (an explanation of the Scripture which has been proclaimed), or by its placement in the celebration. For instance, were an ordained person to preach during a Eucharistic celebration on a topic other than the Scripture which has been proclaimed, would that be a homily? If the ordained person preaches before the Gospel rather than after, or at some other point in the celebration and explains the Scriptures which have been proclaimed, is that a homily? Likewise, if a lay person preaches after the Gospel, but does not speak on the Scripture which has been proclaimed, or speaks at some other time in the celebration but does comment on the Scripture readings, is that an acceptable implementation of canon 766?

There are many differences of opinion on these questions, and consequently many differing opinions on how and when canon 766 can be implemented. Clearly, lay persons are excluded from giving homilies, but there is not universal agreement on what constitutes the homily. Consequently, the forms of preaching available to laity according to canon 766 such as reflections, commentary, personal witness or testimony, are clouded by the ambiguity.

Acknowledging that there is the restriction concerning the homily, canon 766 states the broad principle that preaching by laity, when advantageous to the community in question, is appropriate. There is no mention that lay preaching is conditioned upon a lack of priests. However, laity who undertake this formalized preaching are invited to it by an appropriate ecclesiastical authority. The canon does not designate where decisions about necessity or advantage to the community are made, or by whom. Neither is the level of authority who invites the lay person to preach identified in the canon. However, such determinations may be stated in any norms established by a particular episcopal conference for its own territory. Examples of norms established by various conferences indicate that some conferences have restricted lay preaching by its placement in the liturgy. Others do not mention placement, but require special preparation for lay preachers and/or permission from the local ordinary before preaching is undertaken. (Examples in the Canon Law Digest, volume 11.) In the absence of any national norms or diocesan norms, decisions about lay preaching are made at the local level and in conformity with universal law.

Bibliography: j. beal, et al., eds., New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law (Mahwah/New York 2000). l. robitaille, "An Examination of Various Forms of Preaching," Canon Law Society Proceedings 58 (1996) 308–325. j. provost, "Brought Together by the Word of the Living God," Studia Canonica 23 (1989) 345–371. p. stevens, "La Prédication dans le Code de Droit Canonique: Quelques remarques critiques," Revue de Droit Canonique 48 (1998) 81–96.

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