Preparing for bird flu

Is it the role of the State or of the Church to prepare for the bird flu? Or is it the role of both? The Edmonton Archdiocese says yes to the second question so much so that it drafted guidelines in preparation for an influenza pandemic. Many of these were based on similar guidelines in the diocese of Davenport, Iowa.

If a pandemic hits, local Catholics will not receive Communion under the species of wine and will not be able to receive the Eucharist on their tongues, according to a draft of the Archdiocesan Influenza Pandemic Planning Guidelines.

The draft guidelines said people who handle hosts prior to Mass will be required to wear disposable gloves and masks, and eucharistic ministers will have to clean their hands with a hand sanitiser immediately before and after distributing Communion. If the eucharistic minister accidentally touches a communicant, he or she will have to stop distributing Communion and sanitise again before resuming, the guidelines said.

The draft Edmonton guidelines noted that confessions will not be heard in enclosed confessionals, and the confessor and penitent must sit at least a yard apart, each wearing face masks. In a worst-case scenario, church services would be cancelled altogether, it said.

Medical recommendations call for people to wash their hands with soap and running water for at least 20 seconds as the main means of preventing the spread of influenza. A pandemic could last from a few days to several months. There will be no collection baskets, because money tends to be dirty. Some churches plan to accept donations in locked boxes which will remain closed for at least three days to give viruses time to die.

Under the draft guidelines, the Church may move to "alternative forms of worship" for Sundays. Parishioners will be reminded to keep Sundays holy, but if public gatherings are banned, a simple Liturgy of the Word will be distributed to parishioners.