The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix announced today its intentions to implement new norms for the distribution of Holy Communion under the forms of bread and wine that are in keeping with new universal Church standards for the distribution of Communion.
The new norms will promote unity in the celebration of the Eucharist all around the world, and come from the revised General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 3rd Edition, together with the final edition of The Norms for the Distribution and Reception of Holy Communion Under Both Kinds for the Dioceses of the United States of America, published in June 2011.
The priests of the Diocese of Phoenix recently discussed the new norms and a provisional text for its local implementation. At the present time, these diocesan norms, together with a time frame for implementation in the Phoenix Diocese, are under preparation and should be completed within the next few months.
Since the 11th century, the Latin Rite Catholic Church distributed Holy Communion to the faithful under the form of bread. At the end of the Second Vatican Council, the Fathers of the Council directed the Sacred Congregation on Divine Worship to provide for occasions where the practice of distribution and reception of Holy Communion under both kinds to the laity could be restored. In the Roman Missal (1975), 14 instances were provided when the chalice could be offered to the Laity.
From 1975 on, the United States, United Kingdom and Oceania were given experimental privileges for the distribution of Holy Communion under both kinds. These privileges expired in 2005 and were not renewed by the Holy See. The new norms issued in June 2011 are what guide the liturgical practice today and in the future.
These universal norms for the distribution of Holy Communion under both kinds greatly expanded those times when the chalice could be offered to the lay faithful for most of the Catholic world (since in most countries their practice was virtually non-existent). In the Diocese of Phoenix, like other places where the practice of reception from the chalice became frequent or even commonplace, the new norms call for the practice of less frequent distribution of Holy Communion under both kinds than the faithful may have been accustomed.
