Is Communion in the Hand an Abuse?

by Father Paul Leonard, B.Ph., S.T.B., M.Div.

"Communion in the hand", Michael Davies observes, "was reintroduced
into the Catholic Church as an act of rebellion soon after Vatican II. It
began in Holland as an arbitrary act of defiance of legitimate authority.
Mandatory liturgical norms were defied and Communion was
distributed in some Catholic churches in what had been, since the
Reformation, the characteristically Protestant manner. It was an abuse
and should have been dealt with by the bishops immediately and
effectively."
Propagandists who favor the practice are quick to point out that it was
widely practiced in the early Church, but they fail to mention that the
practice led to so many abuses that it had to be condemned and
suppressed at an early period in the Church's history.
The argument that the practice of distributing Communion in the hand ought to
be restored because it was practiced in the early Church is not valid.
In his Encyclical Mediator Dei (1947), Pope Pius XII warned against those who
attempt to subvert the Faith under the pretext of a return to primitive practice:
such persons represent "a wicked movement that tends to paralyze the
sanctifying and salutary action by which the liturgy leads the children of
adoption on the path to their Heavenly Father."
In the same document, the Pope went on to further explain that "the desire to
restore everything indiscriminately to its ancient condition is neither wise nor
praiseworthy. It would be wrong, for example, to want the altar restored to its
ancient form of a table . . . and pictures and statues excluded from our
churches . . This attitude is an attempt to revive the 'archeologism' to which the
pseudo-synod of Pistoia gave rise; it seeks also to reintroduce the many
pernicious errors which led to that synod and resulted from it and which the
Church . . . has rightly condemned."
The seemingly innocuous and sincere desire to return to the ancient practice is
really a cloak which conceals subversive intentions. Davies points out that "this
was a standard argument of the Protestant Reformers . . . indeed an appeal to
the primitive Church is a characteristic of heresy."

.Communion in the Hand Condemned

in 650 A.D
Davies points out that the practice currently being imposed upon the faithful is
not really the same as was done in the early Church: "Women did not receive
the Host directly into their bare hands but were compelled to cover them with a
cloth called the dominical."
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At any rate, throughout the Universal Church the practice was found to be
unacceptable and was eventually universally suppressed. Already in the year
650 A.D. the practice of Communion in the hand was condemned by the Council
of Rouen.
These facts alone should have been sufficient reason to wonder whether the
revival of the long abandoned practice would accomplish anything but harm for
the contemporary Church.
We do not, at any rate, see an increase in faith and reverence for the Eucharist
since the reintroduction of the abusive practice of distributing Holy Communion
in the hand.
In his Apostolic Letter Dominicae Coenae (February 24, 1980), Pope John Paul
II stated that since the practice was introduced, "cases of deplorable lack of
respect towards the Eucharistic species have been reported, cases which are
imputable not only to the individuals guilty of such behavior, but also
to the pastors of the Church who have not been vigilant enough regarding the
attitude of the faithful towards the Eucharist." In a report entitled Should
Communion in the Hand be rescinded? we read:
. . . Hosts . . . have also been found in missalettes, on pews, under pews,
in church vestibules and parking lots. They have also been placed in
pockets and photo albums. Even more shockingly, consecrated hosts have
been found in toilets . . . it is public knowledge that stolen Consecrated
Hosts are used in the worship of satan in terrible "black Masses".

The Vatican Issued 7 Obligatory Conditions for Receiving

Communion in the Hand
The situation has gotten so far out of hand that even the Holy Father issued a
public apology for the "scandal and disturbance concerning the interpretation of
the doctrine and the veneration due to this great sacrament." The obligatory
conditions that the Vatican laid down to be observed for the distribution of
Communion in the hand have been universally ignored, such as:
1. "The new manner of giving Communion must not be imposed in such a way
that the traditional practice is excluded . . .
2. "The rite of giving Holy communion in the hand must not be used without
discretion . . . the result . . . must be such as to exclude any appearance that
the Church is weakening in any way her faith in the Eucharistic presence, and
such that there is no danger of profanation or even the appearance of danger of
profanation.
3. "The possibility offered to the faithful to receive in his hand and to put in his
mouth the Eucharistic Bread must not offer to him an occasion of considering It
to be like ordinary bread or something merely blessed; on the contrary . . .
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4. ". . . one must take care to not drop or lose any particles of the Eucharistic
Bread, one must also take care to see that the hands are suitably clean . . .
Of the seven conditions, I call special attention to these four, because they are
so widely ignored; in fact, No. 2, 3 and 4 seem to be almost universally ignored,
and this circumstance renders the practice sacrilegious. It was reported in Ave
Maria magazine that from purgatory a priest's soul told a chosen soul that
"Communion in the hand . . . is truly a sacrilege . . ." There even took place an
extraordinary sign of God's displeasure for this irreverent practice a few years
ago in Canada:
One of these last Sundays (June 21 or 28, 1970), at the seven o'clock
parish Mass, in the Beauceville Church (P.Q., Canada), the parish priest
Charles-Eugene Houde (about 50 years old) was celebrant. He had
already told his parishioners that they were permitted to receive the
Sacred Host in their hands, according to the directives given by the
Archbishopric of Quebec. This day, before the Mass, he told his
parishioners the following: "Henceforth, to avoid complications, everyone
of you will receive the Host in your hand for Communion . . .
At the moment of the Communion of the Mass, Reverend Houde turned to
the people, holding the ciborium in his hand. Before he had time to take
one single Host and make a single step, about fifty consecrated Hosts flew
out of the ciborium by Themselves, They went up in the air, and dispersed
Themselves around the celebrant, then slowly fell to the ground . . .
Father Houde was so much struck by the prodigy that for a few minutes
he remained motionless having his face white. Then, interiorly inspired,
he said to the faithful who were approaching the Holy table: "Henceforth,
all of you will receive the Sacred Host on your tongue, not in your hand,
because God just gave us a sign."
. . . Back at his presbytery he is reported having said: "Never in my life
will I give Holy Communion in the hand."

Priests and Laity Persecuted

for Insisting on Reverence
for the True Presence of Christ
Finally, the practice of Communion in the hand has been a cause of division and
even persecution within the ranks of the clergy. On various occasions Father
Gruner has written concerning this issue and I present some of his observations
here:
"A number of Catholic priests are suffering due to certain conditions
prevailing in the Church at the present time, because their conscience will

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not allow them to give Holy Communion in the hand. Priests have been
removed from their parishes, and priests are hampered in their work . . .
". . . is it not true that the minister is responsible to God for the proper
administration of the sacraments that he personally administers? But
some priests ask themselves, "How can a priest be held responsible by
God, if God (and the Church) does not also give to us priests the
authority to dispense this most Holy Sacrament according to God's law
and the universal law of the Church?"
"It seems then . . . that a priest is not ever obligated by divine or
ecclesiastical law to give Holy Communion in the hand, even in those
dioceses where the bishop has licitly given permission for the priests to
give Holy Communion in the hand. As the indult given by the Holy See
only dispenses a minister from the law of Holy Communion on the tongue,
it does not command a minister to give Holy Communion in the hand.
". . . the priest giving out Holy Communion must judge if in fact the
conditions set down by the Holy See for this indult are in fact present at
the time he is distributing Holy Communion."

How reverently the same Body of Christ is treated by the Pope here safely
encasing the Blessed Sacrament so that no Particles are lost.

The Priest Who Distributes Holy Communion is Answerable to God

Himself for Ensuring that the Sacred Hosts and Fragments are not
Sacrilegiously Handled

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"... Further, it seems that when the priest finds that to give Holy Communion in
the hand would be against the law of God and his conscience he would be
obligated to not give Holy Communion in the hand. (As for example would
happen when he is morally certain that the faithful through ignorance or
negligence will cause Consecrated Fragments to drop on the ground after they
consume the Host.)
"... I have crossed Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans and nowhere
have I seen any sufficient care taken of Particles of the Consecrated Hosts when
Communion is given in the hand. This care to see that Particles are not dropped,
is one of the necessary conditions, without which, no minister of the Holy
Eucharist under the present indult and its governing letter is allowed to give
Communion in the hand.
"... I can be morally certain that Sacred Particles will be dropped on the ground
through the practice of Communion in the hand, and I am therefore bound in
conscience as the one primarily responsible for the administration of the
sacraments that I am personally called to administer to obey the indult
strictly and not give Communion in the hand until such time as I can be
certain that such sacrileges will not take place."
Having exercised my priestly ministry for a number of years in more than ten
countries, and having observed conditions in those countries, I can only confirm
Father Gruner's observations and comments in this matter as being most
accurate.
It is indeed unfortunate that such conditions prevail in so many parts of the
Catholic world today.

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