Does not mean laypersons cannot speak on issues – for example promoting CCD or about prolife issues. It just cannot be subbed for the homily or in a place – right after the Gospel – where a homily is normally done.
Short article in America Magazine, the Jesuit publication. The link will get you a bit more information.
The June 17 letter, along with the German bishops’ original request, was published in German on the website of the German Bishops’ Conference on June 23. (The English translations in this article are not official translations as none have been published.) The same day, the Vatican’s Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments published a press release on the matter, taking the unusual step of publishing it exclusively in English.
The dicastery’s decision appears to ban any lay preaching immediately after the Gospel, arguing that its “place” and “function…essentially coincide with those of the homily itself,” raising questions about lay preaching, which is currently practiced in nearby Switzerland.
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The German “Synodal Way,” a reform and discernment process involving lay people and bishops that has previously experienced tensions with the Vatican, has discussed lay ministries at length. Ultimately, 90 percent of the bishops participating in the Synodal Way—a majority of German bishops—voted in favor of requesting that the Vatican allow “theologically and spiritually qualified” lay people “who are commissioned by the bishop” to preach the homily on Sundays and feast days.
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Cardinal Roche opened his letter of June 17 to the German bishops by expressing his “sincere gratitude for the pastoral concern underlying this request and for the desire to ensure appropriate spiritual care for the communities entrusted to you.” However, he said, no indult could be granted because the homily is “an integral part of the liturgy” and “inseparably connected with the proclamation of the Gospel and with presiding over the celebration,” and thus reserved to priests and deacons. He cited a St. John Paul II-era instruction, “Redemptionis Sacramentum,” reaffirming that lay people cannot give the homily during Mass, “even under designation.”
The prefect wrote that an exception could not be justified by the “serious pastoral considerations” or “better theological preparation or communicative ability on the part of the lay faithful” that Bishop Wilmer had raised.
In a key passage that could have implications beyond Germany, Cardinal Roche wrote that the ban on lay homilies applies to any preaching that happens just after the Gospel, “since the proposed place—immediately after the Gospel—and the function exercised essentially coincide with those of the homily itself.”