Eucharistic Minister

The title Eucharistic Minister is a title of the Roman Catholic Church that is given to the laity who have been authorized by Church Clergy to administer and distribute the 'True Presence of Jesus Christ', i.e. the 'Consecrated Host', 'Holy Communion', 'Eucharist', to other parishioners during, and even outside of, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Typically, Eucharistic Ministers can also distribute 'Holy Communion' to those in prison, or to those who are sick and unable or incapable of attending the Sacrifice of the Mass.

Catholic Eucharistic Ministers

In the Catholic Mass, the ordinary Eucharistic Ministers are the Bishop, Priest, and Deacon; laity may be delegated to assist in the distribution of Communion and are referred to accurately as "Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion." [http://www.nccbuscc.org/liturgy/girm/lit4.shtml] As stated in the Vatican document, Redemptionis Sacramentum, in paragraphs 154-156, the term "Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion" is the proper title and should be the only one used. Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and a few Protestant denominations believe that the Eucharistic elements (or "species", that is the bread and wine) are not merely symbols, but contain the "real presence" of Christ, though the degree to which each denomination interprets this varies. They are also sometimes referred to as "Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist", or EME. Pope John Paul II discouraged the usage of the acronym, "EME", fearing that it might be removing the original intended piety of the term.

Specific training and instruction are generally prerequisite to becoming a Eucharistic Minister, whereby special consideration is given to such candidates who are first reviewed and deemed qualified to undertake such responsibility. Unlike Priests and Bishops, Eucharistic Ministers are under no circumstances permitted to consecrate unleavened bread as is done in the Eucharistic Prayer of a Priest or Bishop. Eucharistic Ministers may only distribute 'Holy Communion' which has already been consecrated.

Controversy

At the direction of Pope Benedict XVI, extraordinary ministers of holy Communion in the Roman Catholic Church were no longer permitted to assist in the purification of the sacred vessels at Masses in the United States. In an Oct. 23 letter, Bishop William S. Skylstad, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops,(USCCB) asked his fellow bishops to inform all pastors of the change, which was prompted by a letter from Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments. The U.S. bishops asked the Vatican to extend an indult -- or church permission -- which has been in effect since 2002 allowing extraordinary ministers of holy Communion to help cleanse the Communion cups and plates when there were not enough priests or deacons to do so. That indult was granted for a period of three years and was an exception to the worldwide directive given in the 2002 edition of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM).

When, after the three-year period expired, the bishops asked the Vatican to extend the indult or make it permanent, the request was declined.

Bishop Skylstad, who heads the Diocese of Spokane, Wash., said Cardinal Arinze asked Pope Benedict about the matter during the June 9 audience “and received a response in the negative.”

Noting that the GIRM “directs that the sacred vessels are to be purified by the priest, the deacon or an instituted acolyte,” the cardinal said in his Oct. 12 letter that “it does not seem feasible, therefore, for the congregation to grant the requested indult from this directive in the general law of the Latin Church.”

Controversy over the ability of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion to clean the chalice and other sacred vessels erupted after a question of piety was raised. One church coined the catch phrase, It's not "doing the dishes". Because Catholics believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, many prefer that a priest or ordained minister monitor the purification rites of the sacred vessels.