Directive from Archbishop Flynn ends lay preaching at Mass

Published: 2008-05-13

NEW HOPE, Minn. (CNS) -- Father Terry Rassmussen, pastor of St. Joseph Church in New Hope, finished the reading, closed the Book of the Gospels and stepped away from the ambo. From the congregation, Ginny Untiedt stepped forward. Clad in a white robe, Untiedt bowed as Father Rassmussen laid his hands on her head and blessed her. She walked to the ambo and began preaching for the last time. As many as 29 parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis have used lay preachers at Mass during the past 25 years. In January Archbishop Harry J. Flynn instructed pastors to discontinue the practice. He gave the date of his retirement as head of the archdiocese -- May 2 -- as the time by which parishes should develop "a pastoral plan" to end lay preaching at Mass. Pope Benedict XVI accepted Archbishop Flynn's resignation on his 75th birthday May 2; 75 is the age at which canon law requires bishops to turn in their resignation. As coadjutor, Archbishop John C. Nienstedt automatically became head of the archdiocese.

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