Is it safer to receive holy communion by the tongue or hand during the Corona Virus Pandemic?

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edjlopez23

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Is it safer to receive communion by the tongue or hand to avoid the corona virus?
 
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Surely the minister’s safety should be considered too?

Indeed, if the minister involved is clergy, well, given the shortage of priests I would say it should be paramount.
 
I think there would be little difference in risk to the recipient but communion on the tongue would be much more risky for the priest or other minister.
 
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I think we should do whatever is safest for the Priest and the recipient.
 
If the priest or extraordinary minister can drop it equally well into the hand or onto the tongue without making any contact with the receipient, then it is equally safe, I guess.
 
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How could anyone really know this? With all the exposure and unknowns it is honestly such a guessing game. Who knows. We are a reactionary society that does things that make us feel like we are doing some good or have some power over our situation. This leads to great things with safety and intent. It also leads to some incredibly shallow and frankly kind of dumb and hypocritical positions.
 
Do what the bishop says. Jesus won’t mind, but Jesus does mind if you are disobedient to your bishop.
 
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Dolphin said:
Do what the bishop says. Jesus won’t mind, but Jesus does mind if you are disobedient to your bishop.
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I don’t know if @edjlopez23 has elucidated what his bishop’s directives are, vis-a-vis COTT, but it’s been fairly plainly established that an ordinary does not have the authority to forbid COTT.

That being said, in such a case I would grudgingly obey, because there would be no sin in simply receiving CITH (also the priest would probably be directed to outright refuse to administer the Sacrament any other way.)

But it still must be made clear that, per St. Thomas Aquinas’ analysis of just laws, an unjust law is no law at all, and need not be obeyed. It would devolve to the priests in a diocese in such a case, to gently disobey their bishop and continue to administer COTT, especially in such a case as the TLM.
 
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What if the minister of holy communion accidentally touches the mouth of some receivers. Would that potentially spread the virus?
 
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Due to a prohibition on dispensing medical advice on the Internet, I have elected to refrain from further participation in this thread.
 
edjlopez23 said:
What if the minister of holy communion accidentally touches the mouth of some receivers
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That is why, in my Church, there is a small table set up at each the locations where the Ministers stand with a container of what I assume is Holy Water and a hand sanitizer dispenser. I had occasion this past Saturday to observe the priest distributing in the area where we sat sanitize his hands immediately after distributing to an individual, presumably because of inadvertent contact. And incidentally, we are not using EMHC for the moment. There are typically at the Mass I normally attend three Ministers; the priest celebrant, a second priest that comes up to assist in distribution, and a deacon. Given the reduced attendance three suffice for orderly and timely distribution.

ETA: Our Bishop has determined that there is insufficient evidence to state with certainty that one form of receiving is safer than another, so both are available at the individual’s option.
 
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