Ohlstadt (dpa / lby) - A majority of the 170 delegates at the autumn plenary assembly of the diocesan council of Catholics in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising spoke out against a ban on preaching for non-ordained pastors. At the meeting in Ohlstadt (Garmisch-Partenkirchen district) on Saturday, they appealed to the board of directors of the diocesan council to ensure that "Cardinal Reinhard Marx commissions non-ordained pastors to preach at Eucharistic celebrations."
So far, there has been a ban on preaching for non-ordained ministers when a cleric is present. This contradicts the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, from which the message was based, "that all the baptized and confirmed are empowered to proclaim the word of God," argued applicant Balthasar Nußrainer, chairman of the dean's council from Dorfen (district of Erding).
In addition, the plenary assembly of the diocesan council instructed the board to campaign for Archbishop Marx to use the legal options available and to commission non-ordained pastors to donate baptisms and assist in marriage. So far, only priests and deacons have been allowed to do this, it said.
The background to the demands is above all the lack of priests. In addition, it is frustrating for church and pastoral officers to be treated as second-class ministers.
