Vatican updates norms on donations for special Mass intentions

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Catholic faithful do not “buy” Masses, but when a priest accepts an offering and promises to celebrate a Mass for that person’s loved one or other special intention he must do so, the Vatican said.

“The centuries-old custom and discipline of the church insist that each individual offering be matched by the priest’s application of a separate Mass celebrated by him,” the Dicastery for Clergy said in a decree published April 13.

However, it said, in situations where there are many requests or few priests, a “collective” Mass may be celebrated if and only if the people making the offerings are informed and explicitly agree, the decree said.

Nevertheless, it added, a priest is allowed to keep only one of the offerings, which are usually referred to as “stipends.”

The diocesan bishop or provincial superior of a religious order is to establish where the rest of the money should go, the decree said, although it suggested that the funds be given to a poorer parish in the diocese or sent to the missions.

The decree, based on norms in the Code of Canon Law and updating elements of a similar 1991 decree, was approved by Pope Francis April 13 and will go into effect April 20.

Church norms governing offerings made for Masses, the decree said, are designed “to ensure justice — namely the keeping of the word given to those making the offering — and on the other hand, to avoid the danger, or even the appearance, of ‘trading’ in sacred things.”

In a general audience talk in 2018 about the Mass and, specifically, about the Eucharistic prayer, Pope Francis reminded people that every Mass is celebrated for everyone.

“No one and nothing is forgotten,” he said. “And if I have someone — relatives, friends, who are in need or who have passed from this world to the other — I can name them in this moment, inwardly and in silence,” or ask for a special Mass to be celebrated for that person.

The pope continued by imagining someone asking, “Father, how much do I have to pay?”

The response, he said, is “‘Nothing.’ Do you understand this? Nothing! You do not pay for Mass. Mass is Christ’s sacrifice, which is free. Redemption is free. If you want to make an offering, do so, but you do not pay.”

Making a donation, the new decree said, is a way for the faithful to offer something of themselves and to contribute to the support of their priests. But it always is voluntary, always can be free and while there can be a “customary” amount — often $10 in most Italian and U.S. dioceses — it is up to the faithful and not the priest to determine the amount.

The new decree also asks bishops and priests to educate their people to recognize the need to support the church in mission territories and to acknowledge the universal nature of the church by fostering “the praiseworthy custom of transferring to mission countries excess Mass intentions with the corresponding offerings.”