Pope Prefers Communion on the Tongue

Msgr. Marini's comments were made during an interview with Gianluca Biccini on some of Pope Benedict XVI's recent liturgical decisions and their meaning.

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VATICAN CITY (CNA) - In interview published in the Wednesday edition of L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict's new Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, Monsignor Guido Marini, says he believes that people receiving Communion kneeling and on the tongue will become common practice at the Vatican.

Msgr. Marini's comments were made during an interview with Gianluca Biccini on some of Pope Benedict XVI's recent liturgical decisions and their meaning.

Biccini noted in the exchange that Pope Benedict distributed Holy Communion to people who knelt and received the host on their tongues during his visit to Brindisi (Southern Italy) last week.

When he was asked if this would become a common practice at the Vatican, Marini responded, "I believe so."

"In this regard it is necessary not to forget the fact that the distribution of Communion on the hand remains, up to now, from the juridical standpoint, an exception (indult) to the universal law, conceded by the Holy See to those bishops' conferences who requested it," the liturgical master of ceremonies reminded.

Canada, Mexico, the Philippines and the United States are all countries that have been granted an exception from the universal practice of receiving Communion on the tongue.

It seems though that the Pope wants to provide an example for the Church, according to Msgr. Marini, "The form adopted by Benedict XVI is meant to highlight the force of this valid norm for the whole Church."

"It could also be noted that the (Pope's) preference for such form of distribution which, without taking anything away from the other one, better highlights the truth of the real presence in the Eucharist, helps the devotion of the faithful, and introduces more easily to the sense of mystery. Aspects which, in our times, pastorally speaking, it is urgent to highlight and recover."

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