Vatican to German Bishops: No Lay Homilies at Mass

The Vatican has rejected a request from the German Bishops’ Conference to allow laypeople to preach the homily during Mass in exceptional circumstances.

The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments communicated this decision in a letter dated June 17. The letter was addressed to Bishop Heiner Wilmer, the president of the German Bishops’ Conference.