In Germany’s industrial Ruhr area, the Diocese of Essen is the first diocese in the country to commission a group of women to administer the sacrament of Baptism.
Newsroom (18/03/2022 10:01 Am Gaudium Press) According to Theresa Kohlmeyer, head of the department of faith, liturgy, and culture in the diocese, the step was necessary because there were “fewer priests than in the past.” She added there was “a great need on the part of baptismal families for the most individual accompaniment and worship service possible.”
Meanwhile, Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen explained that the decision to commission lay people — 17 women and one man — for a period of three years was a response to “a pastorally difficult situation.”
More than 2.5 million people live in the Essen diocese, 724,047 of whom are Catholic. It is the smallest diocese in Germany in terms of area.
However, Canon 861 of the Code of Canon Law says that “the ordinary minister of baptism is a bishop, a presbyter, or a deacon.” It adds that “when an ordinary minister is absent or impeded, a catechist or another person designated for this function by the local ordinary, or in a case of necessity any person with the right intention, confers baptism licitly.”
Bishop Gebhard Fürst of Rottenburg-Stuttgart announced in March 2021 that he would look into the possibility of Baptism by lay pastoral workers, establishing a working group.
With files fro NCR
Compiled by Raju Hasmukh
