LISBON, Portugal (LifeSiteNews) –– Recent events at World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, highlighted the widespread liturgical abuse of the Blessed Sacrament, with Catholics condemning the “sacrilegious” reservation of the Eucharist in plastic crates.
In recent days, pictures from World Youth Day in Lisbon have been circulating on social media, causing outrage and consternation among faithful Catholics.
The first notable example during this year’s WYD was the Mass for Portuguese pilgrims during which Tupperware bowls from IKEA were used instead of ciborium for distributing Communion. InfoVaticana reported that the decision to do this was confirmed by WYD organizers as being “in full agreement with the ecclesiastical authorities.”
Some days later, a fresh liturgical “sacrilege” emerged, with picture documentation presented online.
Reservation of the Blessed Sacrament at World Youth Day. pic.twitter.com/QQWkZUgyeN
— Father V (@father_rmv) August 6, 2023
The images show gray plastic boxes resting on top of tables inside a tent. Inside the boxes were consecrated hosts reserved for distribution at the official WYD Masses. The tables are covered with a blue tablecloth and one altar cloth, with lit candles on either side of the boxes.
Further images showed the boxes piled onto each other, with a small, potted plant placed on top.
The reaction from numerous Catholics was swift and clear. “This is sacrilege,” wrote one Catholic university student, while another individual argued that “this is disgusting. We Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is truly present in the Holy Eucharist, the Most Blessed Sacrament.”
Jesus deserves far better than to be stored in plastic tupperware containers. This sacrilege is indefensible.
Prominent YouTuber Dr. Taylor Marshall argued that “Whoever set this up hates Christ,” and the traditional Catholic blog Rorate Caeli quipped that “Fresh pies and cakes are stored with more dignity.” A number of commentators described the flippant treatment of the Eucharist as making the United States bishops’ talk about a Eucharistic revival look “cheap,” although the USCCB was not responsible for organizing the WYD events.
Deacon Nick Donnelly called for World Youth Day and similar gatherings to be banned “if they cannot show basic reverence to Our Lord.”
World Youth Day is a horrendous nightmare
Not only did it promote Indifferentism and homosexuality
This is how they reserved the Blessed Sacrament in Lisbon
WYD commits untold outrages, sacrileges and offences against Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament
It should be banned
All… pic.twitter.com/r7jpGaQfv3
— Nick Donnelly (@ProtecttheFaith) August 7, 2023
But others defended the pictures, with English priest Fr. Sean Gough arguing that though improvements could have been made to the storing of the Eucharist, the arrangements at WYD meant that “Jesus was simply not being treated disrespectfully, given the circumstances.”
Youth kneel in adoration
One of the images shared widely online shows a few young participants of WYD kneeling in front the stacked boxes. Among those pictured kneeling before the boxes is Savannah Dudzik, who recounted how she encountered the Blessed Sacrament. Walking back from “praise and adoration,” Dudzik stated how she and her companions were “honestly confused” seeing a few people praying before the boxes.
Upon being informed by one of the people present that “Jesus. Jesus is in there,” Dudzik stated how “at that moment I was infuriated: how dare they disrespect our Lord? What do they think they are doing – putting Him in a box with almost zero respect … people walking right past not knowing it’s Him at all!”
In response, Dudzik decided to return to the tent with her friends. She wrote:
We weren’t going to gossip to others about it. We were going to take our rosaries, go back to Jesus, and say a rosary in reparation for sins against his Sacred Heart. So that’s what we did.
While she defended World Youth Day for producing “so much good,” Dudzik added that “it is an absolute disgrace to put the host in such an unworthy container to be worshiped.”
READ: Abp. Viganò: World Youth Day has confirmed Bergoglio’s plan to provoke a schism
“Furthermore,” she argued, “it’s an incredible shame that many of the young people didn’t even know this was their Jesus – who came and suffered and died for them – that they should be bowing down to worship!
When adored – an incredible privilege and honor that Our Lord gives us – Jesus should always be kept in a tabernacle or exposed in a monstrance.
Dudzik also referenced the high figures of disbelief in the real presence of Christ in the sacred species, noting that treating the Eucharist in such a manner would not help:
The fact that 70% of Catholics don’t even believe in the true presence makes this case even sadder. How are we – the youth – supposed to believe that Jesus is truly here when this is how he is presented?
I love our Catholic faith, I love our magisterium, but I want to hear something – I want to hear a statement from them: tell us, bishops and priests – tell us, the youth from across the world:
Why was Jesus exposed in such a manner?
As yet, Dudzik has yet to receive a response from the USCCB and WYD officials to her question.
Catholic reverence for the Eucharist
Dudzik refers to one of the chief questions that has been raised: namely, how and why the Eucharist came to be reserved thus, when Catholic teaching demands the highest reverence for the Blessed Sacrament?
The Vatican’s 2004 document Redemptionis Sacramentum – which outlines rules and norms for issues pertaining to the Eucharist’s reservation – stipulates that:
… according to the structure of each church building and in accordance with legitimate local customs, the Most Holy Sacrament is to be reserved in a tabernacle in a part of the church that is noble, prominent, readily visible, and adorned in a dignified manner’ and furthermore ‘suitable for prayer’ by reason of the quietness of the location, the space available in front of the tabernacle, and also the supply of benches or seats and kneelers.
Redemptionis Sacramentum specifically warns about avoiding “the danger of profanation”:
Apart from the prescriptions of canon 934 § 1, it is forbidden to reserve the Blessed Sacrament in a place that is not subject in a secure way to the authority of the diocesan Bishop, or where there is a danger of profanation. Where such is the case, the diocesan Bishop should immediately revoke any permission for reservation of the Eucharist that may already have been granted
Canon 934 outlines how a tabernacle must be “immovable, made of solid and opaque material, and locked in such a way that the danger of profanation is avoided as much as possible.” Only “a grave cause, it is permitted to reserve the Most Holy Eucharist in some other fitting and more secure place, especially at night,” reads the Code of Canon Law.
READ: World Youth Day organizer says Fr. James Martin not on official schedule, despite contrary evidence
The Vatican’s 2004 document also issues clear instructions for the vessels used during Mass, which must be made in “strict conformity with the norms of tradition and of the liturgical books,” so that “all risk of diminishing the doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharistic species in the eyes of the faithful will be avoided.” Furthermore:
Reprobated, therefore, is any practice of using for the celebration of Mass common vessels, or others lacking in quality, or devoid of all artistic merit or which are mere containers, as also other vessels made from glass, earthenware, clay, or other materials that break easily. This norm is to be applied even as regards metals and other materials that easily rust or deteriorate
Yet WYD has a history of disregarding this stipulation in favor of ensuring the distribution of Holy Communion to the many hundreds of thousands of participants.
Such a trend of using completely unsuitable and illegal containers, such as bowls or plastic tubs, is by no means a new development at World Youth Days. But it consistency demonstrates the priority that is practiced widely in the Catholic Church today: reverence and respect for the Eucharist and receiving It only when having the proper disposition are rejected in favor of treating the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist as a right to be enjoyed by anyone at any time.
But as Redemptionis Sacramentum states: “God has not granted us in Christ an illusory liberty by which we may do what we wish, but a liberty by which we may do that which is fitting and right.”