HOW INTELLIGENT AND PRUDENT!

How intelligent and remarkable is this!

A Catholic Church diocese is suspending the "sign of peace" between the faithful at Mass due to the recent surge in flu cases in Northern Ireland.

The Diocese of Down and Connor has also advised priests to disinfect their hands before they distribute Holy Communion.

It says its precautions are based on medical advice.

The handshakes between worshippers, known as the "sign of peace", is an established part of the Mass.

However, it is also one of the easiest ways the flu virus can spread from one person to another.

Earlier this week, health authorities in Northern Ireland said people should prepare for a possible surge in cases of the strain which hit Australia in 2017.

Now the Diocese of Down and Connor has suspended the handshakes. It has also said that in the short term the Precious Blood will not be distributed as part of Holy Communion, because it is done from a shared chalice.

The Diocese says its precautions are based on medical advice. The same measures were taken in Catholic churches across much of the UK during the H1N1 swine flu epidemic of 2009.

Parishioners who think they may have flu have been asked to stay away from Mass.

Routinely, during my years of active ministry as Pastor, I would cease offering the Communion Cup during the cold and flue season.  Likewise, I would discourage the exchange of the Sign of Peace during the same period of time.

In both cases, I consulted both Archbishop Burke and Archbishop Carlson before instituting such a policy.  Both Archbishops conceded that, as the local Pastor, I was in the best position to exercise my discretion in a way I believed was prudent and beneficial to parishioners.

I would hope that as the flu season takes hold here in the USA, more Bishops will advise their Pastors to take such intelligent precautionary steps in protecting the health of those entrusted to their care.