Receiving Holy Communion

A news snippet in The Sunday Times (May 10) reported that amid growing concern about a potential swine flu pandemic, some dioceses in the US are either urging or mandating that Holy Communion be distributed only in the hand.

Several others are also recommending that Holy Communion should not be distributed directly on the tongue. Irrespective of how careful the priest or the assistant are in dispensing the Holy Eucharist, some saliva could be passed from one of the faithful to another.

In the early years of Christianity the faithful used to cut small pieces from a large loaf. This was discontinued due to certain abuses and fragments that were strewn about. Since Vatican II authorised the receiving of Communion in the hand there is no tangible reason for all the faithful not to follow suit.

Perhaps in Malta we are not yet ready to appreciate that the hands are no less sacred than the tongue. As Christ himself had said, no part of the body is more important than the other.

I encourage the Archbishop to consider the present danger of a flu pandemic and educate the faithful in this regard. Since some senior citizens may have some scruples about this, an alternative would be that those who receive Holy Communion in the hand would be first, while those who insist on receiving it on their tongue should approach the altar at the very end.

Having stressed the dangers of cross contamination, perhaps it is also time to educate members of the congregation about coughing, sneezing and wiping hands. Some people sneeze without covering their faces and with no regard to the persons sitting around them.

Very few bother to carry a tissue or handkerchief or make use of one. And occasionally, when someone who sneezes does bother to cover his mouth, more often than not he will wipe his hands on the bench to leave a record for the next person. That 'dirt' will still be full of germs to be picked up by other persons.

Many religions include instructions about social behaviour. The Torah has many such examples. After all this is also "good neighbour" behaviour! Am I asking too much of the Church in Malta to educate and minimise the risk of cross contamination?