How best to receive Holy Communion

Zak Portelli (The Sunday Times, May 2) raised the question of how the faithful should receive Holy Communion. His main argument is that the hands are not consecrated. At best he is confused while showing an acute ignorance of the Gospels and other Christian teachings.

If his hands are not consecrated, what about his tongue and stomach? Even Jesus had spoken clearly that evil does not enter the body but is originated from within the body. If Mr Portelli is familiar with the Gospels he should know about this particular passage.

The fanatical, sanctimonious and bigoted approach also shows great lack of Christian charity. Spittle is a carrier of many diseases and not just influenza. Whether it is swine flu, bird flu or any other infectious disease, the danger is ever present. He may be healthy, but could also be a carrier.

Christian charity and love is all-encompassing. It is not limited to giving alms but even more so to ensure that you love and respect your neighbour. Passing on diseases is surely not brotherly love.

This is a topic of unbridled scruples. In the early days of Christianity the faithful used to cut small pieces from a large loaf. It was in the Dark Ages, when abuse was rife, that the individual Eucharistic Host was produced.

I invite Mr Portelli to study this subject before rushing to print. The tongue can be the dirtiest part of the body, as it is from the tongue that spite, venom, vengeance, hatred, and so on, are spread and disseminated.

Scrupulousness is a psychological disorder characterised by pathological guilt about a moral or religious issue. It is personally distressing, objectively dysfunctional, and often accompanied by significant impairment in social functioning.

It is often conceptualised as a moral or religious form of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The term is derived from the Latin scrupulum, a sharp stone, implying a stabbing pain on the conscience. The word 'scruples' now commonly refers to a troubling of the conscience.

Having mentioned all this I appeal to all priests to educate churchgoers about sneezing, coughing and wiping dirty hands on the pews.