What's Wrong With This Picture?

The picture you see on the right was taken from the web edition of the Philippine Daily Inquirer showing Infanta Bishop Julio Xavier Labayen (left) celebrating Mass for detained Army Brig Gen. Danilo Lim (second from right) in his custodial house in Fort Bonifacio. With the them are lawyer Fred Bentulan, Jose Albert, Hero Vaswani, of the Kilusang Makabansang Ekonomiya, Lim’s wife Aloy and daughter Aika.

What's wrong with this picture?

First of all, his Excellency is improperly vested for celebrating Mass. He has a stole over collared shirt, probably a polo barong. According to General Instructions of the Roman Missal:

“Unless otherwise indicated, the chasuble, worn over the alb and stole, is the vestment proper to the priest celebrant at Mass and other rites immediately connected with Mass.” [GIRM 299]

The Ceremonial of Bishops [CB] also describes the priest’s vestment in this way:

“Unless otherwise indicated, the chasuble, worn over the alb and stole, is the vestment proper to the priest celebrant at Mass and other rites immediately connected with Mass.” [CB 66]

Canon 929 further stipulates:

“In celebrating and administering the Eucharist, priests and deacons are to wear the liturgical vestments prescribed by the rubrics.”

For those who think bishops are exempted from the GIRM, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium) of the Second Vatican Council clearly states the right to regulate the Mass is reserved to the Holy See and that no one has the right to change the rubrics of the Mass:

“No one has the right to add, change, or remove any portion of the Mass.” [SC 22].

Secondly, his Excellency is holding hands with the congregants! Where in the rubrics of the Mass or in the GIRM does it provide that the celebrant hold hands with the members of the congregation?

Thirdly, why is the Infanta bishop spending so much time outside of his diocese? He’s supposed to be ministering to his flock in his diocese, but it seems that he’s always in the newspapers attending to political rallies and to other ostensibly non-religious matters. If his Excellency is more concerned about political issues than sheperding his flock, perhaps he should resign his post and allow the Holy Father to appoint in his place a man in the mold of the late Ignatius Cadinal Kung.

Given the quality of our bishops and the way they conduct themselves, it is no surprise that the Philippines does not have an abundance of vocations.