As a practising Roman Catholic in Scotland, I would like to clarify some of the misconceptions posted here.
The Catholic Church in Scotland have been and still are, committed to protecting the faithful by rigorously following Government legislation, regarding Covid. I would imagine the same protocols are in place for the rest of the UK.
Health protocol for distribution of Holy Communion – Bishop’s Conference Scotland.
Clergy distributing Holy Communion should:
sanitise their hands immediately prior to distributing Holy Communion
wear a face covering while distributing Holy Communion
direct congregants to receive Holy Communion in their hand by stretching out their arms with one hand on top of the other, then taking steps to the side to place the host on the tongue.
(The Eucharist is and has been only distributed under one kind since the beginning of the pandemic. No chalices are used.)
2.Catholics are only under obligation to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, ( Confession) once a year and about Easter time. You can still receive the Eucharist, even if you haven’t been to confession for weeks. However, some Catholics feel they must go to Confession, before receiving Communion. That is totally impractical, in my opinion.
3.Most Catholics (myself included) do not believe that God will prevent us from contracting Covid, if we receive from the chalice. That is why at present, we do not receive the precious blood of Jesus and it is still not allowed.
Dipping the host (wafer) is called Intiction and is not allowed in Scotland, nor in many countries.
4.We do not all follow religiously (pardon the pun) like sheep and as a fairly intelligent person, there are parts of the Catholic faith which I question. Many modern Catholics also question certain aspects of their faith, that is in my opinion a healthy approach.
Despite what some seem to think, we are not all indoctrinated.
Here ended the lesson for tonight, folks.
I hope that clears up a few things and half truths.
Pax Vobiscum. ?.