Due to an editorial oversight (mine), the article “The Ten Most Common Liturgical Abuses” in our January 1999 issue stated that the Holy See has prohibited the practice of holding hands during the Lord’s Prayer at Mass. Since we have continued to receive questions on this issue from both sides of the aisle — those who like to hold hands and those who don’t — we revisited the source cited by the article as prohibiting the practice. Bottom line: The Holy See has used language discouraging the practice, but it has not explicitly forbidden it.
The source is a question-and-answer article that appeared in Notitiae, the official publication of the Sacred Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship. Our article cited a reply given by the Holy See concerning whether it is permissible to replace the exchange of a sign of peace with handholding at the Our Father. Here is the passage in full:
“Query: In some places there is a current practice whereby those taking part in the Mass replace the giving of the sign of peace at the deacon’s invitation by holding hands during the singing of the Lord’s Prayer. Is this acceptable?
“Reply: The prolonged holding of hands is itself a sign of communion rather than of peace. Further, it is a liturgical gesture introduced spontaneously but on personal initiative; it is not in the rubrics. Nor is there any clear explanation of why the sign of peace at the invitation ‘Let us offer each other the sign of peace’ should be supplanted in order to bring a different gesture with less meaning into another part of the Mass. The sign of peace is filled with meaning, graciousness, and Christian inspiration. Any substitution for it must be repudiated” (Notitiae 11 [1975] 226, DOL 1502, no. R29).
As you can see, the phrase “it must be repudiated” refers to the substitution of the individual exchange of the sign of peace for something else, not to the actual holding of hands during the Lord’s Prayer. Nevertheless, the reply does use language that discourages handholding during the Lord’s Prayer — “it is a liturgical gesture introduced spontaneously but on personal initiative; it is not in the rubrics.” Canon law prohibits us from introducing new elements and rites into the liturgy: “The liturgical books approved by the competent authority are to be faithfully observed in the celebration of the sacraments; therefore, no one on personal authority may add, remove, or change anything in them” (CIC 846, para. 1). This implies a rejection of the practice.
Incidentally, while another rite cannot replace the individual exchange of a sign of peace, there is no mandate that the sign of peace occur at all. The rubrics state, “Then the deacon (or the priest) may add: ‘Let us offer each other the sign of peace.'” But it’s a practice so deeply ingrained in this country it would seem bizarre to most people to discontinue it.