Paper cups or disposable plastic cups (we are talking teeny one sip size) are very common in protestant churches. Especially for highly-attended services like Easter. The altar guild doesn’t want to have to wash all the teeny glass cups that would be used. These churches also have special trays with little holders of all the little cups and special funnels to fill the cups. This may be what the parish near yours was using.
Spillage is usually not a problem because of all the special devices. The problem is in people “taking” the precious blood and communing themselves. And then having these disposable cups just thrown away with drops of the blood still in them. Also, in protestant churches, these trays were not on the altar during the “consecration”, so they were not really consecrated (if you consider the minister’s blessing to be a consecration of sorts). I cannot image a Catholic altar piled high with these trays while the priest consecrates the elements.
Thanks be to God that this parish has received a more Orthodox priest. Hopefully the priest that allowed this will receive instruction so that he doesn’t allow abuses like this again.
