Dear Father,
I did some research on receiving Communion on the tongue which, upon the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the USCCB reaffirmed can never be denied.
Pursuant to the USCCB guidelines below, the option to receive Holy Communion on the tongue can never be denied. The guidelines also revealed that it is no unhealthier than receiving the Eucharist in the hand.
The USCCB Guidelines on Sacraments and Pastoral Care Working Group on Infectious Disease Protocols for Sacraments & Pastoral Care April 28, 2020 Part III – Phased Restoration of Public Masses (guidelines) reference a universally binding instruction titled Redemptionis Sacramentum, no. 92, issued in 2004 by the Congregation of Divine Worship.
That instruction provided, “Each of the faithful always has the right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue, at his choice,” (no. 92.) The instruction was published by the Congregation of Divine Worship in 2004 and follows St. John Paul II’s 2003 encyclical, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, which called for instruction on the liturgical norms. That instruction was also reaffirmed by the Vatican during the swine flu epidemic on July 24, 2009.
Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon issued a statement on March 2 confirming that Catholics always retain the right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue.
The guidelines also state, “We have carefully considered the question of Communion on the tongue vs. Communion in the hand. Given the Church’s existing guidance on this point (see Redemptionis Sacramentum, no. 92), and recognizing the differing judgments and sensibilities that are involved, we believe that, with the precautions listed here, it is possible to distribute on the tongue without unreasonable risk.”
It seems very clear to me that neither bishops nor priests have any authority to deny the faithful the reception of Communion on the tongue.
In the Holy Name of Jesus,
Dan
