I’m sure the bishop has his reasons for this, but this strikes me as a little heavy-handed:

Belleville Catholic Bishop Edward Braxton has set a deadline of this weekend for all parishioners who attend Corpus Christi Church: You must kneel during the high point of the ceremony, the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

Braxton sent a letter marked “high priority” to Monsignor James Margason, pastor of Corpus Christi, who posted the information for parishioners.

In the Catholic Church, the Eucharistic Prayer marks the central prayer of the Mass and is the moment when the “bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Christ,” according to a directive from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The group advises that all should kneel at this time.

But at the 91-year-old wood frame Shiloh church, about 50 of the approximately 90 to 150 people who attend any of four Masses on the weekend sit in an annex, where there are rows of seats that have no kneelers — long, padded devices in a pew that can be folded down.

For years, many parishioners at Corpus Christi, including those in pews with kneelers and those without, have remained standing during the Eucharistic Prayer.

Margason said that Braxton’s Dec. 7 letter to him was posted prominently in the church and that parishioners in the main section equipped with kneelers now kneel during the reading of the Eucharistic Prayer. However in the annex, the people stand, Margason said. He declined further comment.

The letter did not state whether there would be consequences for continued standing, even in the annex where there are no kneelers.

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