In response to the recent outbreak of mumps in Hawaii, the diocesan Office of Worship is advising parishes to suspend the distribution of the Sacred Blood during communion through the communal chalice for at least the three weeks, the length of incubation for the illness, or until the outbreak subsides.
The advice was sent Oct. 27 as an emailed memorandum to all clergy, parishes and schools in Hawaii.
Quoting “medical experts,” the message said that mumps is caused by “a highly virulent RNA virus that is passed on via oral secretions and it is not killed with a short pass through wine-level alcohol.”
The memo said, “parishes in areas where a high volume of tourists attend Mass should be alerted and highly consider this temporary suspension.”
The memo cited statistics from the Hawaii State Department of Health which stated that as of Oct. 26, the number of confirmed cases of mumps for the year is 512, of which 420 were reported in Honolulu.
The Office of Worship also suggested prudence when exchanging the “sign of peace” before Communion.
“A smile or a bow, or simply the words ‘Peace be with you’ might seem more appropriate during the exchange of peace” than a handshake, it said.
The annual cold and flu season, or the occurrence of contagious diseases, “always offers us the opportunity to teach the faithful about the use of common sense in sharing the sign of peace and the chalice,” the memo stated.
It added that the obligation to attend Sunday Mass “does not apply to those who are ill, especially those who suffer from a contagious disease.”
“It is a sign of consideration for themselves and others that those that are feeling ill should remain at home,” the memo said.
The message offered further hygiene advice to parishes:
Check and fill hand-soap dispensers in all church restrooms. You might also place a large dispenser of hand sanitizer in your church vestibule.
Maintain clean, fresh holy water and holy water fonts.
Sanitize with disinfectant wipes places and things in the church that are touched frequently.
The diocese gave similar advice in 2009 during the H1N1 virus, or Swine Flu, epidemic.
It recommended the Eucharistic ministers who are feeling ill to not serve in that ministry, that a bow take the place of a handshake during the sign of peace, that people be discouraged from holding hands during the Our Father, and that people who feel ill not partake of the communion cup.
The diocese also discouraged church employees from traveling to Mexico, apparently a source of the virus.
For more information, contact deacon Modesto Cordero at the Office of Worship, 585-3342 or mcordero@rcchawaii.org.
