Update: Pax Christi parish deleted the second video mentioned in this article. LifeSiteNews saved a copy of it, which can be viewed here.
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minneapolis, July 20, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — A Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has published a YouTube video instructing laity to collect Holy Communion from plastic bags at the back of the church and consume the hosts in their cars because of the coronavirus.
The video was produced by the Pax Christi parish in Eden Prairie, Minneapolis, and was highlighted last week on the blog of American priest Father John Zuhlsdorf.
The parish has now removed the video and Zuhlsdorf reports that a priest of the archdiocese has informed him that “this sacrilegious farce was shut down.”
But the video is still available to view online, as the Catholic website Complicit Clergy made a copy which includes contact details for concerned Catholics to contact Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Bernard A. Hebda.
“To minimize points of contact the ushers will dismiss you to receive Holy Communion at the rear of the worship space starting from the back of the church. In each section you will be directed to leave through the closest exit. The consecrated Communion hosts will be in individual packets on tables at the exit points. Take only one packet per person,” a video narrator instructed those planning to attend Mass at the parish.
“As you leave the worship space please do not linger around. Proceed directly to your vehicle and maintain a safe social distance of 6 to 10 feet keeping your mask on until you are in your car. Once you’re in your vehicle you may consume the host,” the narrator concluded.
The parish has now released another video which appears to show people leaving the church with the “Communion bags,” continues to refer to “Communion tables” and says that “Communion distribution…will occur as you leave the worship space.”
On its website the Pax Christi parish also advertises a Tai Chi group which meets every Wednesday.
While many Catholic dioceses around the world have attempted to ban Communion on the tongue in response to the coronavirus crisis, this video is another example of some parishes adopting novel means of laity self-administering Communion.
In April several Catholic churches in Switzerland began offering pre-packaged consecrated hosts for the faithful to take and consume at home amid the prohibition of public Masses. The consecrated hosts, which, as Catholics believe, are the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ, were put into small containers that look like a match box and are made out of paper. The official news website of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference reported about the practice in a favorable light, not asking any questions about its appropriateness.
In both instances, concerned faithful have pointed out the grave risk of particles of the Blessed Sacrament remaining on packages which are designed to be casually thrown away and of such parishes being targeted by those who wish to deliberately desecrate the Eucharist.
“Black mass loving satanists are going to have a field day!” one commenter posted at Zuhlsdorf’s blog post on the Minneapolis video.
