Archbishop Donnellan has approved a plan for implementing the extension of permission for lay people to the extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist. The extension of this permission now includes ministering to the sick and shut-ins in nursing homes and their own homes.

Seen as a means of improving and enlarging the scope of pastoral care provided for the sick, this new program is set to begin on Sunday, March 27. The Eucharistic Ministers will leave from the principal parish Mass on that Sunday, and each Sunday thereafter, to bring the Eucharist to the sick and shut-in.

A program of instruction for the Eucharistic Ministers is scheduled for Friday evening, March 11, and those parishes wishing to begin the program by March 27 must have their candidates present. This session will be held at the cathedral’s Hyland Center at 8 p.m. and will be conducted by Father Paul Berny and Dr. Ellen Burns. Archbishop Donnellan will also speak to the candidates for this ministry.

This new permission will not replace visitation to the sick by a priest. It will be “in addition to” not “instead of.” The introduction to the archdiocesan guidelines for this ministry states:

“The extension of this faculty is intended to facilitate and increase the pastoral care of our sick and shut-in parishioners who cannot be with us at the parish community’s Sunday celebration of the Eucharist. It presumes the continuing involvement of the priest and the previous catechetical formation of them. Hopefully, it will serve both as a sign of concern to the sick and shut-in of the tender care of our Lord Jesus and also as a reminder to all our people of their responsibility toward the sick of the parish.”

The guidelines go on to state:

a) there must be a genuine pastoral need in a parish for the permission to be granted;

b) there is to be a visit to the sick by a priest at least once a month in addition to the weekly visiting by the Eucharistic Ministers;

c) there will be personal explanation given by a priest to the sick and shut-ins regarding the new practice;

d) where possible, the Eucharistic Ministers will be personally introduced to each sick or shut-in parishioner.

The program for this ministry was presented to the archdiocesan consultors who recommended its adoption by Archbishop Donnellan. The guidelines were drawn jointly by the consultors and Father Louis Naughton, priest secretary of the archdiocesan liturgy commission.

Questions concerning the new program appear inside this issue.