On liturgy.

At Pope Benedict's direction, Catholic bishops are asked not to allow lay ministers to assist in the purification of the sacred vessels at Mass. In 2002, permission had been given in the United States in situations where there were not enough deacons or priests to do so. But now the permission has been removed.

Acting on behalf of the Pope, Cardinal Arinze also said that Communion does not have to be received under both species in order for the person to receive all the fruits of the sacrament; and that "extraordinary ministers, by which lay people distribute Communion, were created exclusively for those instances where there are not enough ordinary ministers to distribute Holy Communion" (CNS, Oct. 25, 2006).

Cardinal Arinze also criticized liturgical abuses at an October 26 presentation at the Catholic Institute of Paris. He indicated that many abuses arise from "the undue place given to spontaneity, or creativity, or perhaps a false sense of liberty, or even that error that goes by the name of 'horizontalism,' which consists in placing man at the centre of the liturgical celebration instead of directing attention upward, that is, toward Christ."