Bishops to vote on statement explaining Catholic devotions

Published: 2003-10-23

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- When the U.S. Catholic bishops meet in Washington Nov. 10-13, they will be asked to approve a short pastoral statement, "Popular Devotions and Practices: Basic Questions and Answers." Drafted by the bishops' Committee on Doctrine in consultation with the committees on Liturgy, Catechesis, and Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, the 21-page statement strongly affirms the role of popular devotions and pious practices in Catholic life. It also stresses, however, that such prayers and practices must always be in accord with church law and teaching and must never supplant the liturgy, which the Second Vatican Council described as "a sacred action surpassing all others" and "the summit toward which the activity of the church is directed." An appendix deals with church teaching on the indulgences attached to some devotions and the meaning of the temporal punishment for sin removed by such indulgences. Among examples of popular devotional practices the statement cites "pilgrimages, novenas, processions and celebrations in honor of Mary and the saints, the rosary, the Angelus, the Stations of the Cross and the veneration of relics."

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