There are certain circumstances when a priest can refuse to give Communion in the hand; for example, when Communion is distributed by intinction (i.e., dipped in the precious blood first), or when prior abuses of the Eucharist in the parish give the priest reason to believe that distributing Communion in the hand is not warranted until the situation has been rectified. And, of course, at those liturgies at which Communion on the tongue is the normative means of distribution (e.g., Tridentine liturgies, Eastern Catholic divine liturgies), the communicant is expected to receive Communion in the manner normative to that liturgy. Ordinarily though, in those countries where there is a dispensation for Communion in the hand and at liturgies where Communion in the hand is allowed, the priest should respect the communicant’s preference.
