WIRELESS AND THE MASS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21621, 16 April 1932, Page 22

WIRELESS AND THE MASS

NOT VALID (Fson Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, March 1. The question whether mass heard by wireless would be valid has been put to a number of authorities of the Roman Catholic Church. All of theni (says the Rome correspondent of the Daily Telegraph) declared that it would not be. Though sonic recognised that a broadcast mass would have special value in the case of persons who were too ill to attend church, they maintained their objection in regard to its validity. Cardinal Ascalesi, Archbishop of Naples, stated that mass could not be valid if heard more than 10 paces away from a church, excepting when there was a great and unbroken concourse of people and the celebration could be seen or heard Gianfranceschi, the director of the Vatican wireless station, agreed with the other authorities that the hearing of ma=s without the physical presence of the faithful was not valid. He said, however, that, in view of the increasing development of the science of broadcasting, the question might one day be taken up bv the Pope. It is supposed that he had tne question of television in mind. The Church, he added, had always taken advantage of modern inventions when they could be used for spreading the faith. Mgr Carinci. of the Congregation of Rites, went further and said that the congregation, when asked whether confession could be heard by telephone, had answered in the negative because the elements of personal presence and secrecy were absent.