Thank you for this update.  I am continuing to pray.

I got an update today. NOTE: This is all I know. Just passing on the entire bit of news as I received it.

Suppose Steve told you he had to have all fingers and toes removed. 
He is confined to a wheel chair.
Poor man.

 

Sad that he likely can't say Mass anymore. He could probably preach, but that's it.

I'm not clear on what is going on here.  Has Fr Welsh had to have his fingers and toes removed, or is that just something that is a possibility?

And I ask in all ignorance, if a priest is disfigured in that manner, does traditional canon law make any allowance for his celebrating Mass?  Must he actually touch the sacred species, or in such cases, could they merely be placed on the altar by an acolyte, and perhaps allow a deacon to distribute Holy Communion in the priest's stead?  Or must the rubrics be strictly followed, which would preclude the priest from saying Mass?

Obviously he would still be able to preach and hear confessions, as well as bless the faithful and bless items for sacred use, and possibly baptize using some kind of prostheses.

FWIW, the Newchurch would be untroubled by such things --- I have even heard of a nonverbal priest (autistic) being able to celebrate the New Mass in some fashion.  I can't find a reference for that, but I did find this regarding ASL:

https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/69451/can-a-priest-give-a-mass-in-american-sign-language-asl-what-does-he-do-when-h

Rolling of the eyes here... ... has anybody else ever noticed how desperate they are to ordain anyone they possibly can?

Incidentally, my own dear father, in his ongoing decline, is no longer able to speak, so no one should accuse me of sneering at the speech-impaired (not that anyone here would do this).  Nonetheless, if he were a priest (ordained widowed man), he obviously would not be able to celebrate Mass, and both he and everyone else would (or should) be at peace with that.  (I mean to say, he would, and they should.  He is for all practical purposes a sedevacantist of the Savonarola stripe --- "this man is no pope!" --- not so much an appeal to technical issues, as common sense.)

Well, he could privately offer Mass with assistance, where another priest would help him.

I hadn't thought of that, but my question then would be, does the celebrating priest actually have to touch the large host and the chalice with his fingers (obviously he does not touch each and every host in the ciborium, yet they are all consecrated), and does he have to elevate the consecrated host and the chalice?  I refer not so much to validity, as I refer to licitness according to traditional rubrics.

And he would actually have to be the priest celebrating, as the TLM is not concelebrated (someone correct me if I'm wrong on that).

He's supposed to touch the host and elevate the host and ciborium, but that's the NORMAL rule and concessions have always been made for circuмstances such as this.  I wasn't referring to a concelebration but physical assistance.  Priests are also supposed to genuflect and do other things, but priests who cannot were allowed to offer Mass sitting down, etc.

Yes, that's what I meant. Thanks for the clarification