In my travels around the country and in Europe I’ve spotted a growing trend of screens in churches. My first encounter was at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in 2003. I remember thinking, “Why on earth, in this most beautiful of churches, would they want to distract us with a screen?” I’ve seen screens utilized more and more, sometimes projecting readings and song lyrics (copyright issues?), announcements, and sometimes simply projecting the liturgical action taking place. 

Here's what the U.S. bishops have to say:

“The current policy of the Committee on Divine Worship [of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops] is that permission is not granted to project readings and liturgical texts on screens during the liturgy. The bishops have the perspective that since so many people spend much of their time looking at screens, the Sacred Liturgy ought to be a prayerful break from that experience. The bishops also believe that screens are a distraction from what is actually taking place in the liturgy.” 

The phrase “…people spend much of their time looking at screens…” really hits home. Go to any restaurant or other public establishment and watch how many are looking at their phones. The human experience of communicating with who is around you is lost to our screens. The sacred liturgy should be a time when we communicate intimately with our Lord through prayer and praise, and through reception of his divine body and blood in the Eucharist. 

Soli Deo Gloria

NEW: Archdiocesan Policy on Catholic High Schools and Initiation Ministry

Each year, as our Catholic High Schools take up the task of forming and evangelizing every student in their care, we have the happy problem of discerning how to minister to students who wish to become Catholic. Motivated by this and by the new National Statutes of the OCIA, the Center for the New Evangelization, in collaboration with the ODWS and the Catholic Schools Office, have developed the following policy which outlines what a partnership between the parish and the school might look like so that our schools can play an important role in the Christian initiation of our students while still ensuring that the parish is the primary context for this journey.

Jubilee Year Masses

Pope Francis declared 2025 to be a Holy Year, a jubilee for the Church. The theme of the Jubilee Year 2025, “Pilgrims of Hope,” is uniquely captured in the prayers, readings, and options of the Mass for the Holy Year. Approved by the Holy See on May 13, 2024 in eight languages, the Mass for the Holy Year may continue to be used in the liturgy for the duration of the Jubilee, concluding on December 28, 2025. It contains three formularies, a set of Lectionary readings, five sets of tropes for the Penitential Act, and four sets of introductions, responses, and conclusions for the Universal Prayer (Prayer of the Faithful).