A proposal to incorporate local customs, such as the kissing of the hand, into the Holy Eucharist to make the Mass more relevant to Filipinos had been languishing in the Vatican since 1991, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma said on the sidelines of a theological symposium held in Cebu City on Thursday.
The symposium was among the activities held in the run-up to the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) set from Jan. 24-31 at the newly built IEC pavilion.
The Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship has yet to respond to the proposal submitted 25 years ago by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Palma said.
“I cannot understand why it is taking a long time for Rome to decide,” the Cebu archbishop said, adding that the celebration of the Eucharist was not just a personal matter among priests, but was meant for the community as well.
The criticism was extraordinary since the symposium held at Cebu Doctors’ University was organized by the Vatican itself, with its plenary lectures and recommendations by hundreds of delegates expected to form the theological backbone of the IEC.
The Misa ng Bayang Pilipino proposed by the late Fr. Anscar Chupungco included such changes as the reader kissing the celebrator’s hand before the reading of the sacred scripture, a popular Filipino gesture of respect.
Another proposal has the priest allowing Mass-goers to receive Holy communion first, a reference to Filipino hospitality where guests are asked to partake of the meal before the host does.
Theologians, pastors, sociologists, cultural anthropologists and experts in linguistics worked on the project, which was reviewed by an ad-hoc committee of bishops and unanimously approved by the CBCP in 1976.
The proposal was sent to the Vatican in 1991 for approval, but had merited no response so far.
Fr. Mark Francis blamed the Congregation for Divine Worship, an agency of the Holy See directly under the Pope, for delaying the liturgical reforms meant to make the Church more in tune with modern times to allow members fuller participation in the Mass.
Francis, who heads the Catholic Theological Union in the United States, said the lack of inculturation, or cultural adaptation of the Mass to local or native cultural forms, has made this liturgical celebration alien to most Catholics in the Americas, Africa and even Asia, where the Catholic population now overwhelms that of Europe.
“The main cause of this lack of enthusiasm for inculturation comes from the Congregation of Worship,” Francis said.
Filipino Vincentian Fr. Daniel Franklin Pilario said the Vatican agency had perennially put in the back burner all initiatives from local churches to inculturate and innovate the Mass.
The hemming and hawing of the Holy See agency was habitual and lasting ad infinitum, Pilario added, drawing laughter from the 1,400 delegates to the forum.
Pilario also deplored that the agency, while being a mere department of the Roman curia, could overrule local bishops and national conferences of bishops.
At least 12,000 delegates have registered for this year’s IEC, which has been held every four years since the 19th century.
The 2016 IEC will kick off with an opening Mass to be celebrated by Archbishop and papal legate Charles Maung Cardinal Bo.
Despite criticisms of the Vatican agency, the Cebu IEC might take a different tack because of Pope Francis’ attempts to make the Church closer to the people, including his appointment of cardinals from countries with Catholic minorities. With a report by Tina Santos