The news below comes from GMANews.tv
MANILA, Philippines - The rise in the number of A(H1N1) cases in the country has prompted the Archdiocese of Manila to disallow hand-to-mouth contact during the Communion.
The instruction was issued by Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales as the number of confirmed A(H1N1) cases in the Philippines ballooned to 33 on Friday, earning the country the dubious distinction of having the highest incidence of infection in Southeast Asia.
“In view of detected presence of the A(H1N1) virus in our country, Cardinal Rosales has ordered that for the meantime Communion be received by the faithful only by hand," Fr. Genardo Diwa, head of the Liturgical Ministry of the Manila Archdiocese, said in an advisory. [meantime? really? do we have your word for this Your Eminence? Virus or no virus Communion in the Hand is being shoved down our throats as if it were the Norm in receiving Holy Communion and not through the mouth. (Why did I just suddenly smell something stink?) Some man of faith we have here. People affected with tuberculosis are not advised to do this and now all of a sudden? Have you ever heard of one Italian cardinal who prohibited the reception of Communion in the Hand because of abuses and even sacrilege committed against the Sacred Body?]
Excerpts of the advisory were posted on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines' (CBCP) Website.
Diwa said other forms of close contact like the holding of hands would be discouraged inside churches "to avoid the further inadvertent spread of the virus." [Maybe we should try to stop the liturgical creativity virus, eh Fr. Diwa? Like the holding of hands during the Pater Noster? Wasn't it prohibited by Redemptionis Sacramentum?]
The instruction was issued by Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales as the number of confirmed A(H1N1) cases in the Philippines ballooned to 33 on Friday, earning the country the dubious distinction of having the highest incidence of infection in Southeast Asia.
“In view of detected presence of the A(H1N1) virus in our country, Cardinal Rosales has ordered that for the meantime Communion be received by the faithful only by hand," Fr. Genardo Diwa, head of the Liturgical Ministry of the Manila Archdiocese, said in an advisory. [meantime? really? do we have your word for this Your Eminence? Virus or no virus Communion in the Hand is being shoved down our throats as if it were the Norm in receiving Holy Communion and not through the mouth. (Why did I just suddenly smell something stink?) Some man of faith we have here. People affected with tuberculosis are not advised to do this and now all of a sudden? Have you ever heard of one Italian cardinal who prohibited the reception of Communion in the Hand because of abuses and even sacrilege committed against the Sacred Body?]
Excerpts of the advisory were posted on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines' (CBCP) Website.
Diwa said other forms of close contact like the holding of hands would be discouraged inside churches "to avoid the further inadvertent spread of the virus." [Maybe we should try to stop the liturgical creativity virus, eh Fr. Diwa? Like the holding of hands during the Pater Noster? Wasn't it prohibited by Redemptionis Sacramentum?]
It seems to me that it recieving Communion on the tongue is more sanitary than recieving in the hand.
ReplyDeleteMy hands touch the pews, the kneelers, the hymnals, and the door handles. The priest, at least at my parish, uses Purell before distributing Communion.
It sure seems that my hands are probably pretty germ laden.
Well, Domini, I would not have any problems if INDEED the intent of the directive is to prevent the spread of the virus. You really get a bad feeling whenever Fr. Genaro Diwa issues a liturgical directive in the name of the Archbishop of Manila.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that our own hands are dirtier than those of the priest. If the priest has the canonical digits discipline (keeping the index finger and thumb joined after the Consecration), then it would lessen the chances of getting the fingers "dirtier".