Luzerne County Weddings

Roman Catholics looking to marry in coming months could face a problem: no Saturday wedding masses allowed.
Diocese of Scranton Bishop Joseph Martino has issued a “pastoral letter” that essentially limits priests to celebrating two Masses on weekdays, including Saturday. Local priests are already stretched thin, with many covering two or more parishes, often celebrating two Masses on Saturday to satisfy separate congregations.

Except for unusual circumstances, a third Mass, including those typically held with weddings or a funeral is now out. At least one pastor, the Rev. William Karle, pastor of Holy Saviour in Wilkes-Barre and St. Christopher’s in Bear Creek Township, has already advised his congregation through the church bulletin that Saturday wedding Masses will be a thing of the past, encouraging them to consider Friday evening ceremonies instead.

Karle said he didn’t know how many weddings the two churches typically host in a year, so he doesn’t know the likely impact. Parishioners do have options though. He can still perform a Saturday wedding ceremony that’s recognized by the Catholic Church without celebrating the Mass.

Or, parishioners can try to find an outside priest who isn’t hitting the two-Mass limit that day. Neither, Karle said, is an ideal solution. A wedding with a mass is always preferred, and “I would feel badly if some other priest were ministering to my people, but that is their prerogative.” For Karle, his decision is based on simple logistics. Catholics are obligated to attend Sunday Mass, but can fulfill that obligation through a Saturday service. Karle celebrated two Sunday Masses at Holy Saviour, and a Saturday Mass at each church. “There is no thought here at all to eliminating the Bear Creek (Saturday) Mass,” Karle said. “That’s the only Mass I have there.” And even though it’s only a 10-minute drive for Karle to shuttle between churches, he believes they are too far apart to ask either congregation to give up their Saturday Mass and attend it at the other church.

While the situation might surprise parishioners, Diocese Spokesman Bill Genello said the Mass limit rule is nothing new. Church law actually limits priests to one Mass a day to avoid diminishing the importance of the central rite, the consecration of the Holy Eucharist. Roman Catholics believe bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. Acknowledging the shortage of priests, bishops routinely allow two Masses on weekdays and three on Sundays, Genello noted, and Martino is continuing that practice. But he’s requiring priests to adhere to that limit unless there are very unusual circumstances. Genello said the effects of the pastoral letter, dated Sept. 15, are still unclear. Martino wants parish priests to work with his regional representatives, the Vicars General and Episcopal Vicars, in deciding whether Mass schedules should be redrawn. Those representatives can also allow a third Mass they see fit, but only until Dec. 3, 2006. After that, the letter says, “dispensation from the law will be granted only on the rarest occasion.” The Rev. Andy Sinnott faces a situation similar to Karle’s, but has not taken any action yet. Sinnott is pastor of both St. Boniface and St. Patrick’s in Wilkes Barre, and hold one Mass at each on Saturdays and Sundays. He said he is still unsure of how the new mandate will play out. “I don’t know how we’re going to manage this. I’m still a little baffled myself.”

Both Sinnott and Karle said the limit also affects funeral Masses, and the options are the same as with weddings: have the funeral without a Mass or pick a day other than Saturday or Sunday. Sinnott also pointed out that parishioners can opt to do the two on different days: a service on a weekend and a memorial Mass a few days later during the week. The difference of course, is that funerals are not scheduled months in advance, and frequently fall on weekdays anyway.

The big question may be: Why now? Genello referred to the pastoral letter. “One of the reasons why we have not yet seriously felt the pinch of the shortage of priests is a relatively hidden one, and it is the purpose of this letter to bring it into the open. That reason is that our priests are very often celebrating several Masses on the same day.”

Asking priests to follow church law now can help all parishioners to better understand what the community needs and how best to fill those needs, Genello said. Some church Mass schedules may simply be a matter of habit. “In some places people think we’ve always had a certain Mass on a certain day. One of the things the bishop is suggesting is evaluating these schedules.”
And while the letter does not refer to church closings, Genello conceded that the number of Masses a priest celebrates can be linked to that touchy subject. “ We know that in some areas the size of the congregation is decreasing. So you have to look at that in terms of: do we still need the same number of Masses to serve fewer people?”

It’s also important for people to realize priests do much more than celebrate Masses, Genello said. They handle church finances, schedule building maintenance, help organize choirs, and many other “ministries.” Adhering to the two-Mass limit makes sure priests have enough time to get everything done. “We have to be conscious of that. We can’t ask them to do too much.”