Well!
A few days ago, K. C. went out on a limb and predicted an imminent lifting of the ban on Communion on the tongue. This was because the initial swine flu panic has passed and because the ban itself was not being honored nor enforced. Thank God! But my limb has been chopped off. His excellency, Edmund Carmody, has not lifted the ban! Please pray that he soon will. Please pray that he soon will recommend that his diocese follow the Holy Father's (and 'Brave One's') example!
the blog Catholicism.about.com has done some coverage of the swine-flu-Communion-on-the-tongue-ban. Mr. Richert, the blogger, has highlighted the blatant violation of the Church's law that such a ban represents.
Listen to one of his antagonists, a Kurt Higdon, who is a parishioner from my home diocese!
Kurt: >>>>In my diocese of Corpus Christi, TX, there is now no communion on the tongue [actually, Kurt, my sources tell me that not even the bishop himself is enforcing the ban. Thank God!] or from the cup, no touching at the kiss of peace, and (at least in my parish) no holy water fonts. No distinction is made as to whether or not a person feels ill since someone could be infected or a carrier without current symptoms. These measures, while strict, are I believe justified by the situation and may help impede the spread of this flu. As far as “mandating communion in the hand” is concerned, what is actually meant is forbidding communion on the tongue. To me, common sense would indicate that communion on the tongue or from the cup would be more likely to spread the flu than communion in the hand. ['common sense would indicate' that Kurt does not receive on the tongue, or else he would know that priests don't touch your tongue even one time in a thousand- hence the danger is imagined. This ban is catering to ignorant people's imaginations!]
So I don’t see why people would object to this rule as a temporary measure. [if it is such an unobjectionable rule, then why has it never been done before in response to an epidemic?] This will pass soon enough. In the meantime, why insist on endangering the lives of others just to take communion in your own preferred fashion.[my emphases] <<<<
Comments anyone? .....You know K. C. will have something to say!
It was done in Canada during the SARS scare.
ReplyDelete