領主禮中的祝福

先前所提及過的、在彌撒領主禮中，神父祝福未能領受共融聖事人士的做法，似乎已獲得教廷聖禮部的注意。

跟據新一期《Adoremus Bulletin》二月號的報道，有人曾致函聖禮部查詢此事。

網上曾流傳有這樣的一封信函，它的作者為Jeffrey Pinyan，刊於網誌《What Does The Prayer Really Say》。

Greetings, Your Eminence. I have a question in two parts concerning a custom found in various parishes and dioceses of the United States of America: the blessing of non-communicants during the Communion procession. Briefly stated, this custom consists of a non-communicant presenting himself (often with his arms crossed over his chest with his hands on his shoulders) before a minister of Holy Communion and receiving a blessing of some sort, e.g.: “May God bless you” or a gesuture such as the Sign of the Cross on the his forehead.

1. Is this a custom that is within the faculty of a pastor, the local Ordinary, or a Bishops’ Conference to establish? That is, is this custom something that can be regulated without recourse to this Congregation?

2. Are there particular guidelines or restrictions, from the Congregation, as to a) which ministers of Holy Communion may give these blessings, and b) what forms these blessings may take?

I remain faithfully your brother in Christ our Lord.

Jeffrey Pinyan

而聖禮部的其中一封覆函（Protocol No. 930/08/L），是在去年十一月廿二日發出的。署名的聖禮部職員，則為Fr. Anthony Ward。這位神父所編的禮儀經本縮印研習版，在梵蒂岡書局亦有售。

根據這封覆函，聖禮部正就此事進行詳細研究。但當中幾項明示，實在值得我們留意。現引述如下：

1. The liturgical blessing of the Holy Mass is properly given to each and to all at the conclusion of the Mass, just a few moments subsequent to the distribution of Holy Communion.

2. Lay people, within the context of Holy Mass, are unable to confer blessings. These blessings, rather, are the competence of the priest (cf. Ecclesia de Mysterio, Notitiae 34 (15 Aug. 1997), art. 6, § 2; can. 1169, § 2; and Roman Ritual De Benedictionibus (1985), n. 18).

3. Furthermore, the laying on of a hand or hands - which has its own sacramental significance, inappropriate here - by those distributing Holy Communion, in substitution for its reception, is to be explicitly discouraged.

4. The Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio, n. 84, “forbids any pastor, for whatever reason to pretext even of a pastoral nature, to perform ceremonies of any kind for divorced people who remarry.” To be feared is that any form of blessing in substitution for communion would give the impression that the divorced and remarried have been returned, in some sense, to the status of Catholics in good standing.

5. In a similar way, for others who are not to be admitted to Holy Communion in accord with the norm of law, the Church’s discipline has already made clear that they should not approach Holy Communion nor receive a blessing. This would include non-Catholics and those envisaged in can. 915 (i.e., those under the penalty of excommunication or interdict, and others who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin).