Should my daughter's CCD class require a Mass attendance record?
The short answer
The parish means well, but the policy is problematic: Catholics may fulfill the Sunday obligation at any Catholic Mass, not only their parish. It is especially troubling if first sacraments depend on the record, since any failure would be the parents'. Talk to the pastor, then a canon lawyer if needed.
Any Catholic Mass
Catholics may fulfill the obligation wherever Mass is celebrated in a Catholic rite, on the day or the evening before (canon 1248 §1), not only at their own parish.
The sacraments
Conditioning First Reconciliation and First Communion on an attendance record is troubling, since the fault for an incomplete record would be the parents', not the children's.
What to do
Ask your pastor what the policy intends and what happens if the record isn't completed. If concerned, consult a canon lawyer in your diocese about your child's right to the sacraments and the parish's right to ensure preparation. The St. Joseph Foundation can also advise.
Continue exploring
- At what age should children start attending Mass regularly?Q&A
- Does a Saturday morning Mass fulfill the Sunday obligation?Q&A
- How did the Church decide that seven is the age of reason and of First Communion?Q&A
- At what point do the bread and wine become Christ's body and blood?Q&A
- Can a lay pastoral coordinator give a homily?Q&A
- Can non-Catholics participate in the gestures at Mass?Q&A