Philippine archbishop says Church rule allows faithful to free hand expression during Lord's Prayer

In his pastoral letter issued on Saturday morning, Lingayen Dagupan Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas said the General Instructions of the Roman Missal is mum on the hand motion during the recitation of the Lord's Prayer in the Mass.

"This silence gives the faithful who recite or sing the Lord's Prayer great freedom to use any gesture that can best help them to experience and express themselves as God’s children," he said.   

Churchgoers communicate with God when saying the Lord's Prayer in different ways, Villegas explained. 

"For some of the faithful, it is in raising their hands in an orans posture that they can express the filial love and reverence contained in the prayer," he said. "Let us allow them. Church rules allow them."

Other members of the Church prefer their hands on the chest when reciting the prayer, Villegas added, noting that there's no church rule discouraging it.

"There is no Church law mandating us how to position our hands when we sing or pray the Lord's Prayer," he said. "As I give this teaching, I declare that I carry the collective teaching of the bishops of the Philippines."

Villegas has expressed more concern over human hands used in evil designs.

"We should be more concerned about the cowardly silence of our lips and the cold hardness of our hearts as we see hands pulling the trigger of guns and killing their brothers and sisters," he said.

Villegas has also expressed more concern over human hands used in spreading lies to demonize the good and glorify the bad.

"We should be more concerned and stand up against the evil hands on the computer keyboards typing lies and composing messages that destroy reputation as they get paid as trolls and employees of fake news," he said. "The hands that spread fake news on social media platforms offend God."

In his pastoral letter, he also cautioned the faithful against human hands that plunder the taxes of the people.

"We should be more concerned about hands that steal government money, fomenting the culture of political robbery at the expense of the poor," he said.

Villegas has also expressed concern over human hands that drag children and women to prostitution.

As reported earlier, the Philippine Bishop’s Conference allows holding or raising hands during ‘Our Father’ in Mass. - Oliver Samson