The Absolute Worst Liturgical Abuses

In 2004 the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments issued an instruction titled Redemptionis Sacramentum. This document introduced a way of ranking liturgical abuses by severity. It offered a three-fold division, classifying them as "graviora delicta" (Latin, "more grave offenses"), "grave matters," and "other abuses." The examples it gave were not exhaustive, but it indicated several of the absolute worst abuses by putting them in the graviora delicta category. Here are seven things you should know.

Special Handling

These offenses are so grave that the Church has a special procedure for handling reports of them. Instead of being handled on the ordinary, diocesan level, they are handled by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in Rome.

Sacrilege with the Sacred Species

The first of the graviora delicta that is reserved to the CDF is "taking away or retaining the consecrated species for sacrilegious ends, or throwing them away." For example, taking the consecrated Host to use in a Satanic or other non-Christian ritual or pouring the Precious Blood down a sacrarium. (A sacrarium is a special sink in churches that drains into the earth rather than the sewer system.) Click here for more on why you can't pour the Precious Blood down a sacrarium.

Attempted or Simulated Celebration

The second offense is "the attempted celebration of the liturgical action of the eucharistic sacrifice or the simulation of the same." For example, cases where a person who is not a priest attempts to celebrate the Eucharist (such as by so-called "women priests").

Forbidden Concelebration

The third offense is "the forbidden concelebration of the eucharistic sacrifice with ministers of ecclesial communities that do not have the apostolic succession nor acknowledge the sacramental dignity of priestly ordination." For example, cases where a Catholic priest concelebrates the Eucharist with Protestant ministers, whose communities do not have apostolic successor or acknowledge that priestly ordination is sacramental.

Forbidden Consecration

The final offense is "the consecration for sacrilegious ends of one matter without the other in the celebration of the Eucharist or even of both outside the celebration of the Eucharist." For example, consecrating either the Host or the Precious Blood for a sacrilegious purpose (e.g., use in a Satanic or other non-Christian ritual) or the consecration of both outside of a Mass.

Other Abuses

Though the above abuses are among the most serious offenses against the Eucharist, there are other abuses.Redemptionis Sacramentum warns against thinking that these are the only ones that are important. Instead, it says that other violations "are not to be considered of little account, but are to be numbered among the other abuses to be carefully avoided and corrected."

Learning More

Fortunately, the graviroa delicta mentioned above are not commonly encountered in a normal parish setting, but other abuses are more common. To learn more about the way the Church classifies and handles liturgical abuses, read sections 169-184 of Redemptionis Sacramentum.