“Consecrating” the Eucharist outside closed parish?

It could be just a slip by the reporter based on ignorance of the Catholic faith, but the photo may lead me to believe otherwise.

A group of disaffected Catholics protested outside their closed parish in Lynn, Mass., on Good Friday with some kind of prayer service. The photo shows a woman holding a chalice and what looks like a host and the caption says: “Lois Bragan, a Eucharistic minister from St. Pius Church, consecrates the host on the steps of the closed St. Michael’s Church during Good Friday services.”

Obviously, whatever she’s doing, she’s not consecrating the Eucharist, but she’s just as obviously not just distributing Communion either based on her demeanor and those around her. (And since it’s Good Friday, a priest wouldn’t have been “consecrating the Eucharist” either, right?)

Whatever she’s doing looks quite inappropriate and at least is a source of scandal to the faithful who saw this photo and caption in the newspaper.

Technorati Tags: Catholic | Boston | parish closing | Eucharist | doctrine | Good Friday |

Photo credit: The Daily Item, Reba M. Saldanha