Lectors(women) reading the gospel for Palm Sunday and Good Friday

Source

From a reader:

On Palm Sunday, rather than the celebrant proclaiming the Gospel, the reading is broken into parts, with the celebrant reading the words of Christ while others share in the parts of the narrator (often the deacon, if he is there), the speakers other than Christ, and the crowd (read by the faithful). 

Have you ever heard a woman read part of the Gospel on Palm Sunday?  I ask this because 2 years ago a woman read all of Christ's words in the Gospel, (which seemed very wrong and really pretty dumb) at a Mass I attended.  I think the priest was the narrator. 

Now that I pay closer attention to things during Mass, it really bothered me when, at Palm Sunday Mass at the Basilica in Milwaukee, the speaker who read the words of Peter, Judas, etc... was a woman.  And she read the words like she was in a school play aimed at 2nd graders.  It was painful to hear and watch.

Then, today on Fr. Zuhlsdorf's blog, he writes "And, NO, women cannot read the Gospel at Mass.   Please stop asking."

Do you know if this is a liturgical abuse to have a woman read part of the Gospel?  My guess is that this happens at a lot of churches.

I am no liturgical expert my any stretch of the imagination.

Interesting, I just had a friend recently tell me that a women had read a part of the Gospel at a parish in Rochester, MN, during an ordinary Sunday during Lent. 

At the La Crosse Cathedral, three male members of the choir sing the gospel in English for Good Friday.  It is done rather well.  The Friars of the Immaculate had three priests chant the gospel in Latin for Palm Sunday.  Very very good. 

I found this on PhatMass.  It is permitted on Good Friday and Palm Sunday.  I should say it is permitted de facto because women are permitted to perform the role of lector. 

Paschalis Sollemnitatis states: REF HERE

33. The Passion narrative occupies a special place. It should be sung or read in the traditional way, that is, by three persons who take the part of Christ, the narrator, and the people. The Passion is proclaimed by deacons or priests, or by lay readers. In the latter case, the part of the Christ should be reserved to the priest.

In the section on Good Friday, the same document states:

64. The order for the celebration of the Lord’s Passion (the Liturgy of the Word, the adoration of the cross, and Holy Communion) that stems from an ancient tradition of the Church should be observed faithfully and religiously and may not be changed by anyone on his own initiative.

And it says that the Passion on Good Friday can be read as described for Palm Sunday:

66. The readings are to be read in their entirety. The Responsorial Psalm and the chant before the Gospel are to be sung in the usual manner. The narrative of the Lord’s Passion according to John is sung or read in the way prescribed for the previous Sunday (cf. n. 33). After the reading of the Passion, a homily should be given, at the end of which the faithful may be invited to spend a short time in meditation.

General Instruction:

Reading the Gospel in parts (by several readers) is restricted to the reading of the Passion of the Lord on Palm Sunday and Good Friday, and is not permitted on Sundays during Lent. This is made clear in the GIRM, paragraph 109:

109. If there are several persons present who are able to exercise the same ministry, nothing forbids their distributing among themselves and performing different parts of the same ministry or duty. For example, one deacon may be assigned to take the sung parts, another to serve at the altar; if there are several readings, it is well to distribute them among a number of lectors. The same applies for the other ministries. But it is not at all appropriate that several persons divide a single element of the celebration among themselves, e.g., that the same reading be proclaimed by two lectors, one after the other, except as far as the Passion of the Lord is concerned.

This is emphasized also in the 2002 commentary, “The Theological Vision of Sacrosanctum Concilium and the Roman Missal” (Liturgy of the Word - How is this enfleshed in the GIRM), also on the USCCB web site,which says:

The division of any readings into parts, except for the Passion, is prohibited by the new Instruction [ref GIRM] (109).

Now I'm sure to get someone riled up but there is also this passage from Paul:

Corinthians ch. 15 vs. 34 "let women keep silent in the churches, for it is not permitted them to speak, but let them be sumissive, as the Law also says....it is unseemly for a women to speak in a church."

Obviously this isn't meant to be interpreted by a Fundamentalist but it seems to directly refer to liturgical actions.

So, yes, the GIRM permits it de facto but only on two days Palm Sunday and Good Friday.  It certainly will cause confusion among the people who care about the liturgy though to say the least.