Can lay people handle the sacred vessels?

[JMKC]

I have heard it said that lay people should not handle the sacred vessels and that altar servers should use a linen when handling the vessels used at Mass. Is this the practice of the Latin Church? I personally favour this approach, but don’t want to instruct others about it if this is not necessarily the case.

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

The laity cannot purify the vessels or take them from the altar. However, once the sacred vessels are handed to laity they do not need to use a linen or cloth to handle them. After all, the Eucharist is more sacred than the vessel that holds it but the laity use their bare hands to distribute communion.