Wrong Argument: "Conservative" Cardinal Napier Defends Communion In The Hand

Pro-lifer Abby Johnson, a mother of eight, stated during a July 21 LifeSiteNews.com conference the truism that Communion in the hand has led to a lack of belief in transubstantiation.

Durban Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, South Africa, rejected her assessment on Twitter.com (July 29) as a "very dangerous line of thinking.”

“Surely, the fact that hands are laid on in blessing, must give hands a special meaning and importance,” he said. This is true but misses the point.

He continues, “What can possibly be irreverent then in the humble gesture of cupping one’s hands in welcoming the ‘gift of life’?” The sacrilegious reality of Communion in the hand has long answered this question.

Napier believes that it is Faith that determines how reverently the mode of reception is carried out and not the other way around - although the fact that Communion in the hand cannot be distributed without dropping particles on the floor, cannot be removed "by Faith."

Thus, in the case of Communion in the hand, the lex credendi (Faith in the Eucharist) is contradicted by the lex orandi (Liturgy including Communion in the hand).

Picture: Wilfrid Napier, © Mazur, CC BY-NC-SA, #newsQvzwobvxtd