San Diego (USA) - Friday, June 20, 2025, a Eucharistic celebration was held in the cathedral of the Diocese of San Diego (United States of America), presided over by Bishop Michael Pham on the occasion of World Refugee Day. An event that, while seemingly intended as a political statement, turned into a grave liturgical abuse and a profanation of the sacred.
During the Holy Mass, which was also broadcast by the media, it became clearly evident that individuals were present in the sanctuary who were not only non-Catholic, but even women dressed in vestments resembling those of priests. One in particular wore a stole, clearly imitating the figure of a Catholic presbyter, suggesting participation in the celebratory role reserved for ordained ministers.
These events constitute a flagrant violation of liturgical norms and Church discipline. It is a scandal that contributes to the confusion of the faithful, weakens the sense of the sacred, and undermines the truth of the sacrament. Redemptionis Sacramentum, an instruction issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (2004), is unequivocal in this regard: “Only a validly ordained priest can pronounce the Eucharistic Prayer; it is not permitted for a deacon, seminarian, or lay person to do so under any circumstances” (Redemptionis Sacramentum, no. 52).
And again: “No other person, not even a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 22 §3).
The presence of women in the sanctuary, vested in liturgical garments and seemingly involved in concelebratory roles, is both a symbolic and practical act of grave significance, as it suggests the idea of a “sacerdotalization” of women — a concept that is neither supported by Catholic doctrine nor by sacramental discipline.
The Magisterium of the Church is unambiguous on this matter. Saint John Paul II, in the apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (1994), declared: “The Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women, and this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful” (Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, no. 4).
The involvement of non-Catholic individuals, in liturgical garments and carrying out ministerial functions, further contributes to confusion. How can someone who does not share the Catholic faith be admitted to the sanctuary? The Holy Mass is not a symbolic gathering or a moment of interreligious “universal communion”; it is the Sacrifice of Christ, sacramentally renewed — and only those in full communion with the Church may actively participate, especially in liturgical roles.
If we truly wish to honor the dignity of refugees, we must do so in truth, charity, and justice — but never at the expense of the truth owed to the worship of God. For without truth, charity becomes ideology.
An event such as the one in San Diego is yet another symptom of a spiritual disease afflicting part of the Western Church: the anxiety to please the world, even at the cost of emptying its own identity of meaning. What is even more troubling is the silence — if not complicity — of many pastors. It is the duty of competent authorities to intervene, clarify the facts, publicly admonish those responsible, and prevent the recurrence of such abuses. Because, as Redemptionis Sacramentum (no. 18) reminds us, “The liturgy is not anyone’s private property,” and those who manipulate it for ideological or sociopolitical ends betray the mandate received from Christ Himself.
fr. L.I.
Silere non possum