"Should there be a need for restrictions on receiving Communion or the exchange of the Sign of Peace, these will be immediately notified to parishes throughout the country," said the acting director of New Zealand's National Liturgy Father John O'Connor.

O'Connor noted some churches have taken it upon themselves to stop giving holy communion from a communal cup because many of their members had recently come back from China, for example."

President of the NZ Catholic Bishops Conference, Patrick Dunn says the current advice of health professionals is there is no need to take further precautions.

"Following discussions with health professionals about the implication of COVID-19 Coronavirus on Catholic gatherings for liturgy, our advice is that the current standard procedures for safeguarding health continue to be followed and there is no need for churches to take further precautions at this stage", Dunn said.

The position follows current literature and expert medical advice that concludes sipping the communion chalice and sharing a handshake represents minimal risk of transmission of COVID-19.

It is also advice provided to members of the Anglican Church in New Zealand.

However, Hilary Babcock, an infectious disease specialist at Washington University, suggests people do not share food utensils, glasses and cups.

"I think that's higher-risk than if there is a way to allow people to have individual cups or individual containers that they are using and either disposing of or having cleaned afterwards."

Caitlin Rivers, an infectious disease specialist with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, says that although communion wine does contain alcohol, it's probably not enough to kill the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Sources

• facebook.com
• nzherald.co.nz
• anglicanlife.org
• nzherald.co.nz
• npr.org
• chchcatholic.nz
• Image: www.telegraph.co.uk

Though the Pope has give no explanation for this practice, Vatican journalist Sandro Magister has come up with the reason: He does not want to give unrepentant sinners a photo opportunity.

Magister said the reason emerged in a 2010 book of conversations the then Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio had with Rabbi Abraham Skorka.

In the book, the cardinal remarked that some people who come forward to receive Communion "take refuge in the Church and do not live according to the justice that God preaches. And they do not demonstrate repentance."

The future Pontiff said: "I do not want these persons to approach me for a photo."

At the time, Cardinal Bergoglio was speaking about employers who exploited their workers by paying unjust wages.

He also referred to "members of charitable organisations who do not pay their employees what they deserve, or make them work off the books".

With others, he said, "we know their whole résumé, we know that they pass themselves off as Catholics but practise indecent behaviours of which they do not repent. For this reason, on some occasions I do not give communion, I stay back and let the assistants do it, because I do not want these persons to approach me for a photo.

"One may also deny Communion to a known sinner who has not repented, but it is very difficult to prove these things.

"Receiving Communion means receiving the body of the Lord, with the awareness of forming a community. But if a man, rather than uniting the people of God, has devastated the lives of many persons, he cannot receive Communion, it would be a total contradiction."

Magister said Pope Francis makes a few exceptions to this policy. For example, at solemn Masses he gives Communion to those assisting him at the altar. Then he sits down.

Source:

Chiesa

Image: Lubbockonline