Many thanks to Rorate Caeli for publishing a significant letter from the Congregation for Divine Worship. (See: It is not licit to deny communion on the tongue due to H1N1)I knew from a source in England that several such letters had been sent and was waiting for one of them to be published. Such letters are not, of course, confidential. They are very carefully written and approved because the Vatican dicasteries know that they will be made public.
Rorate Caeli has the jpeg which is copied above. Fr Z has kindly posted a transcript:
Prot. N. 655/09/L
Rome, 24 July 2009
Dear _
This Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments wishes to acknowldge receipt of your letter dated 22 June 2009 regarding the right of the faithful to receive Holy Communion on the tongue.
This Dicastery observes that its Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum (25 March 2004) clearly stipulates that "each of the faithful always has the right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue" (n. 92, nor is it licit to deny Holy Communion to any of Christ’s faithful who are not impeded by law from receiving the Holy Eucharist (cf. n. 91).
The Congregation thanks you for bringing this important matter to its attention. Be assured that the appropriate contacts will be made.
May you persevere in faith and love for Our Lord and his Holy Church, and in continued devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament.
With every good wish and kind regard, I am,
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
(Fr. Anthony Ward, S.M.)
Under-Secretary
10 comments:
It is customary for the Vatican congregations to send to the Local Ordinary a copy of such letters. Do you know if any further action was taken by the relevent diocese?
This may interest the clergy in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
I often see Catholics who, albeit with great care, receive Communion in the hand by holding their hands right beneath their chin, then either pick the Blessed Sacrament up or just (to use vulgar language) 'suck' the host up. Then they spend a number of seconds picking any little particles on their hands OR start kissing/licking their hand! In the interests of halting the spread of 'Swine Flu' I think that is a bigger problem than people receiving on the tongue. Then again, you're lucky if you see any conscious effort nowadays to make sure there are no particles left on the hand after Communion. Jesus just gets brushed off onto the floor!
Kyrie Eleison.
E.F. The letter indicates that some further communication will be sent to the relevant diocese. I notice that one or two dioceses have recently decided that swine flu isn't that bad after all...
Our PP has indicated that special arrangements can be made for communicants wishing to receive Holy Communion on the tongue....just speak to him about it before Mass, and come up to receive H/C at the very end of the queue.
I am very grateful for this consideration.
I wrote to the bishop of a diocese I was visiting in the summer, when refused Communion on the tongue, with a copy to the dicastery, but am still awaiting a response.
In newsletters, the parish priest of the church nearest to me (not the one I usually attend, except occasionally on a weekday) asked people to receive in their hands to help prevent swine flu spreading. He didn't actually forbid communicants from receiving on the tongue, but asked them to cooperate. Bit tricky, that. One doesn't want to make an issue at the holy moment. So I'm afraid I took the path of least resistance and stopped going there. I guess I should have challenged him. That was a few months ago, though, so maybe I'll go back and see what happens ...
No, no - please, with respect, you must continue to be vigilant Father.
The H1N1 ruse to rid the Church of Communion on the tongue is, if anything, intensifying in these Isles.
Particularly since the untimely death just recently, from Swine Flu related complications, of a priest, 47, in the Archdiocese of Liverpool (Fr Edward O'Toole - RIP).
The stoups are still dry in the Archdiocese (since July) and the most recent missive from the episcopate (the second such - and released just prior to Fr O'Toole's illness) was quite explicit about the perceived dangers - significantly placed above all other practices - inherent in receiving Our Lord on the tongue.
It is believed that Fr Edward contracted the virus during a pilgrimage to Fatima in October.
In the immediate term, I expect that their Lordships will be mindful of the forthcoming ad limina (end of January) and will not wish to rock the barque ahead of their meeting with the Holy Father.
But I wouldn't be surprised if we see a ratcheting-up of the carefully-phrased rhetoric against Communion on the tongue in the aftermath of the ad limina.
It is already the passive-aggressive case that those who favour Communion on the tongue are being made to feel like parish pariahs (it's a very sad time).
This battle is far from over. Stay alert.
There are scores of links to the tragic story of Fr Edward:
So Google: Fr Edward O'Toole Swine Flu
Dear Father Tim
Thanks for posting this which will provide support to souls we know in Liverpool.
We also know of at least one parish where Holy Water has been 'banned' for several months. Parishioners resorted to bringing their own a few weeks back (that is to say from supplies given by other priests).
In Christ
Alan and Angeline
i HAVE JUST COME ACROSS THIS SITE,I AM FR EDWARDS SISTER .EDWARD WAS A PRIEST AND DID GO TO THE HOLY LAND,AND CAME BACK AND WAS ILL A FEW DAYS LATER.BUT MAY I STRESS THAT EDWARD DID NOT DIE OF THE SWINE FLU,HE DID HAVE IT BUT THE HOSPITAL,TREATED EDWARD FOR IT AND IT HAD GONE 4 DAYS BEFORE HE DIED.HE LIVED HIS LIFE TO SERVE THE CHURCH,AND WOULD NOT WONT ANYONE TO TURN THERE BACK ON THE CHURCH BECAUSE OF HIS DEATH,THAT WOULD BE THE LAST THING HE WOULD WISH FOR.PEIST HAVE THE SAME RIGHT AS EVERYONE ELSE TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM BECOMING ILL,SO I THINK THIS IS RIGHT THAT WHAT THE CHURCHS ARE DOING TO PROTECT THEMSEVES PLUS EVERYONE WHO GOES INTO THE CHURCH,SO PLEASE DONT PUT THE CHURCH DOWN WHEN REALLY THAY ARE LOOKING AFTER EVERYONE OF US. THANK YOU DIANE (fr Ewards sister)
Dear Diane - I am very sorry to hear of the death of your brother and will remember him tomorrow in my prayers at Mass. May the good Lord reward his labours in the vineyard with the eternal happiness of heaven. I will remember you too in your sad loss. Please accept my condolences.
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