Is communion on the tongue unsanitary?
Is communion on the tongue unsanitary?
As a follow-up to the article published in the Brisbane diocesan paper against the reception of Holy Communion by the faithful kneeling and on the tongue (Rorate Caeli, Feb 14, 2012, Australian Archdiocesan paper: Communion in the tongue is "unhygienic", disruptive and based on "over-emphasis on Christ's divinity"), the American District of the Society of Saint Pius X published the following informative article, which provides useful points for when this matter comes up in your discussions...
...But with Communion in the hand, full hand-to-hand contact is made between the administrator (usually the ubiquitous Eucharistic Minister) and the communicants, who often have not washed (or sanitized) their hands prior to receiving. Hence with in-the-hand, there is a very real danger of spreading unwanted germs.
The fact is, before the progressivists’ clamor for Communion in the hand (something we might add episcopal conferences did without the Holy See’s approval), the issue of hygiene was never raised concerning the traditional manner of receiving Holy Communion and this during an era when the hygienic advocates were in full swing to make the world germ free.
The irony of this charge against Communion on the tongue is that those who promote in-the-hand for non-existent hygienic reasons simultaneously encourage the practice of “sharing the cup” (receiving the Precious Blood communally from a chalice) which the Roman Church ceased in ancient times precisely due to hygienic concerns (i.e., because of the backwash of saliva that inevitable occurs from a group of people drinking from the same vessel) which in turn could lead to disdain of this Sacred Mystery.
Rorate Caeli
