Christ's faithful, according to Church law, have the right and obligation to be assisted by their pastors – especially by the word of God and the sacraments (Canons 386-387).
This right includes preaching and catechetical formation (Canons 756-780); by ensuring that theology is taught in Catholic colleges (Canon 811); by ensuring proper preparation for the sacraments (Canon 843); by care of the sick (Canon 911); and by hearing confessions (Canon 986).
This canon flows from Vatican II's teaching that Christ is present in the Word of God as well as in the sacraments: "To accomplish so great a work, Christ is always present in His Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of His minister, 'the same now offering, through the ministry of priests, who formerly offered Himself on the cross,' but especially under the Eucharistic species. By His power He is present in the sacraments, so that when a man baptizes it is really Christ Himself who baptizes. He is present in His word, since it is He Himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in the Church. He is present, lastly, when the Church prays and sings, for He promised: 'Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them' (Matt 18:20)." (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, "Sacrosanctum Concilium," 7)
Given both the responsibility of pastors to provide for the spiritual needs of the faithful as well as the current shortage of clergy, pastors may utilize a number of options. Parishes may be entrusted to a deacon or a layperson or group of persons under the supervision of a priest (Canon 517). Deacons or a lay person may be designated to administer Holy Communion to the sick and dying; be designated to preach; to lead services for the deceased; or to exercise a catechetical role (Canon 776). Lay people may be delegated to act as official witnesses at marriages (Canon 112), and married couples may be relied upon to prepare others for the sacrament of marriage (Canon 1063).
This right may be breached if this might unduly delay the reception of the sacraments, or to force recipients to receive them in forms not determined by law. Pastoral practices which make compulsory those that are not binding in Church law (such as requiring people to receive Holy Communion in the hand as opposed to receiving on the tongue) or prevent an exercise of a right which is in conformity with Church law (such as delaying baptism longer than the time prescribed in Canon 867) constitute an abuse of the right to spiritual assistance.
Editor's note: This series about the rights and obligations of the Christian faithful, as set forth in canon (Church) law, has been written especially for the Catholic News Herald by Mercy Sister Jeanne-Margaret McNally. Sister Jeanne-Margaret is a distinguished authority on canon law, author of the reference guide "Canon Law for the Laity," and frequent lecturer at universities and dioceses. A graduate of The Catholic University of America with multiple degrees including a doctorate in psychology and a licentiate of canon law (JCL), she is a psychologist for the Tribunal of the Diocese of Charlotte and a judge in the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Miami.