FOR Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, it’s about time the Catholic Church in the Philippines released a directive on the proper hand gesture when reciting the “Lord’s Prayer.”
This comes after the Diocese of Dumaguete released a circular letter stating that the faithful should “join his or her own hands while the priest extends his hands in prayer” while the “Lord’s Prayer” is sung or recited.
Although Palma said the bishops have the authority and autonomy to issue an order in their respective dioceses, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) should make a recommendation for purposes of uniformity.
“I believe we will make a review of that this coming July. There should be unity in the whole CBCP,” the archbishop said on Tuesday, June 20, 2023. To avoid confusion, Bishop Julito Cortes of the Diocese of Dumaguete in Negros Oriental released a decree on June 16 that people should not raise or hold hands when singing or reciting the “Lord’s Prayer.”
Cortes, who previously served as a member of the Episcopal Commission on Liturgy of the CBCP, said the decree was issued to address “confusion” among the faithful on the proper hand gesture.
The changes took effect immediately in the 42 parishes in the Diocese of Dumaguete, which covers the provinces of Negros Oriental and Siquijor, with the exception of the municipalities of La Libertad and Vallehermoso and the cities of Guihulngan and Canlaon.
Palma said the bishops would ask the CBCP during the National Plenary Assembly next month to conduct a study to determine whether it is necessary to have uniformity in the hand gesture for the “Lord’s Prayer” in all dioceses.
“Bishops have the right to make a decree in their dioceses. But the way we experienced (it) in CBCP, it is helpful if we have a common stand with regard to certain practices,” he said.
There are 86 dioceses in the 16 ecclesiastical provinces in the Philippines that serves more than 80 million Catholic Filipinos.
Palma disclosed that although they had discussed it, they have not yet come up with a decree formalizing a required hand posture.
Palma clarified, though, that the most important component of the Holy Mass is not changed by any difference in hand gestures.
Monsignor Cesar Vergara, secretary of the Episcopal Commission on the Clergy of the CBCP, said that it does not matter what hand gesture is followed as long as the point of the prayer is expressed.
“Many times, the liturgical gestures, even in the history of the Church, have been affected by what is happening. Cultural (factors) and even what is happening at a particular period, for example, because of this virus and everything, there were so many changes in the gestures that they have had to do,” he said.