German bishop says he will not enforce Vatican ban on lay homilies during Mass
Bishop Peter Kohlgraf said laypeople cannot deliver the homily at Mass under canon law, but he will not 'impose sanctions' when they do so in his Diocese of Mainz.
Bishop Peter KohlgrafWikimedia Commons
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Wed Aug 12, 2026 - 9:24 am EDT
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(LifeSiteNews) — German Bishop Peter Kohlgraf announced that he will not enforce the Vatican’s ban on lay-led sermons during Holy Mass.
In an interview with katholisch.de, Kohlgraf, who serves as the bishop of Mainz, was asked about the Vatican’s recent response to a request by the German bishops for an indult for laypeople to deliver homilies. Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, reaffirmed that preaching during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is reserved to priests or deacons only in a June 17 letter.
“This response from Rome is not new. It is a rule that applies in all dioceses, not just in Germany,” Kohlgraf said.
“In Germany, there was already an indult – that is, an exemption – back in the 1970s. At that time, for example, it was possible for theologically trained laypeople to preach at school Masses. That was never considered problematic. Later, however, this exemption was revoked. We could consider such an indult again today. However, I cannot decide this on my own.”
“In my view, the Vatican’s reasoning regarding the ban on lay preaching is not entirely consistent in some respects,” Kohlgraf claimed, explaining his view that the “letter from the Prefect of Liturgy states that only the priest who presides at Mass is the one who preaches there. But a priest who concelebrates, or a deacon who participates in the celebration, should therefore also not preach at that Mass.”
Kohlgraf’s statement does not reflect what Roche wrote in his letter, since the prefect stated that a concelebrating priest or deacon could also preach the homily.
Roche, citing the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, wrote in his letter: “The Homily should ordinarily be given by the Priest Celebrant himself or be entrusted by him to a concelebrating Priest, or from time to time and, if appropriate, to the Deacon, but never to a lay person.”
“In any case, in the Diocese of Mainz, we adhere to the Church’s directive that laypeople should not deliver sermons during Mass,” Kohlgraf said, but added, “In practice, however, it has become customary for this to happen from time to time nonetheless. But I’m not going to change that there.”
Asked if that means that a laywoman who has been trained to preach may deliver the sermon during Holy Mass, Kohlgraf responded, “No, according to Roman guidelines, she is not allowed to do that. I cannot grant such permission either. Canon law does not allow it, and that remains our basis.”
“Nevertheless, it is true that in some of our parishes, it is customary for laypeople to preach. If I learn of this, I will not take disciplinary action or impose sanctions under canon law,” Kohlgraf stressed.
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“However, I do not encourage it, nor can I permit it. I simply take note that such an established practice exists in some parishes.”
The bishop of Mainz said that he is “concerned that the ban on lay preaching from Rome now encourages denunciation.”
“There are people who immediately report liturgical violations to the bishop and write to me directly,” he stated. “It’s true that this has happened before – that individual people have complained to me – but now they’re urging me to intervene. Some even write to the nuncio or directly to Rome.”
He said that he “takes note” of these complaints and forwards them “to the respective pastor or pastoral director of the parish in question” but apparently takes no further action to restrict lay-led homilies.
Kohlgraf said that he would prefer the Vatican give an indult to allow laymen to deliver homilies.
“I consider it a treasure for the Church, given the pastoral staff who are theologically qualified to preach,” he said. “However, I can still only choose the forms permitted by canon law. I understand that some are disappointed because they would be happy to do it.”
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