"Many laypersons have already come up with their own solution: they simply hold church services without the support of the clerics. They pray together, break the bread, administer wine, and care little about Catholic regulations, which specify that only priests are allowed to administer the sacrament of the Holy Communion."
(Actually, bishops, priests, deacons,"Extraordinary minister of Holy Communion" if I understand correctly. - haffast)
"Lays take over responsibility, and the church moves forward. And even without pastors and priests, it works well," Sister Lucilene Antonio, who supports small religious communities within the Amazon region, said. "I have seen women who have done Services of the Word and broke the bread afterwards."
"Rebellion and revolution - that's nothing new for Latin America: In the 1960s and 70s, Latin American liberation theologians such as Gustavo Gutierrez and Oscar Romero inspired clergymen and believers all over the world. One of them was Ludwig Gerhard Müller, who now heads the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith."
"Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff firmly believes Latin America will trigger future reforms that are going to change the Catholic Church. "Our church doesn't reflect the European mother church anymore; it has its own origins, its own traditions, heroes, martyrs, prophets and personas such as the famous former bishop of Recife, Dom Helder Camara, or our very own saint, Oscar Romero," Boff said. "These churches will breathe new life into Christianity.""
End of excerpts
Gerhard Ludwig Müller - Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
"On 2 July 2012 Bishop Müller was appointed prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith by Pope Benedict XVI. At the same time he was appointed Archbishop ad personam. As a result of his new role his is also ex officio president of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, the International Theological Commission, and the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei."
"As a personal friend of Pope Benedict XVI, he has been charged with preparing the publication of the Opera Omnia: a series of books that will collect, in a single edition, all Benedict's writings.[5] Müller himself has was written more than 400 works on dogmatic theology, ecumenism, revelation, hermeneutics, the priesthood and the diaconate."
"Müller was also a pupil of Gustavo Gutiérrez, the father of Latin-American liberation theology, with whom he has a long and close friendship.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerhard_Ludwig_M%C3%BCller
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
SECOND EDITION
PART TWO
THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY
SECTION TWO
THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH
CHAPTER THREE
THE SACRAMENTS AT THE SERVICE OF COMMUNION
ARTICLE 6
THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY ORDERS
http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c3a6.htm
Extraordinary minister of Holy Communion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraordinary_Ministers_of_Holy_Communion
"Fresh air" blowing through the RCC.
http://vimeo.com/5851208
Is the tail beginning to wag the dog? As people turn away from the Truth and become more secular, are churches, not just the RCC, falling into apostasy in trying to reach and include those people among their number?
I’d chalk it up more to ignorance. Without a priest to lead them, they live in error. Pray for our Catholic brethen in the poor areas ... especially those that are difficult for a priest to get to.