Overview
- The German Bishops' Conference asked Rome for an indult to permit laypeople to deliver homilies during Mass as part of reform proposals from the Synodal Way.
- The Vatican's Dicastery for Divine Worship sent a written refusal that links liturgical preaching to the sacramentally received mission of ordained ministers and to the unity of Word and Sacrament.
- The dicastery made clear that lay preaching remains allowed in non‑Eucharistic services, so lay proclamation of scripture can continue outside Mass.
- The decision leaves current practice unchanged under church law, which reserves the homily at the Eucharist to priests or deacons and could prompt complaints where lay preaching has been tolerated locally.
- The request and refusal highlight a wider tension between German reform efforts and Vatican oversight and show how an indult, a formal local exception from Rome, functions in church governance.