Extra steps in light of swine flu cases being taken at Catholic churches

Catholic priests are pretty passionate about the importance of attending Sunday Mass.
But in these days of swine flu concerns, they are urging any adult parionsher or child experiencing flu-like symptoms to stay home.
And if you're attending Catholic school and feel any of the following symptoms — fever, sore throat, cough, stuffy nose, chills, headache and body aches, fatigue (and sometimes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea) — well, stay home.
As part of directives recently issued by Bishop John Steinbock of the Diocese of Fresno, which includes parishes in Kern County, churches are being asked to take a number of precautionary measures to stem any potential spread of the virus. Although California has reported more than a dozen confirmed cases, none, so far, have been reported in Kern County.
For the time being, the Bishop has issued a set of guideliness for churches to follow. Among the directives:
• The Holy water will not be placed in the fonts
• Parishioners should not shake hands (e.g., greetings and sign of peace) if they have a scratchy throat, the “sniffles,” coughing, or sneezing.
• The chalice, which holds the Blood of Christ, will not be distributed at Mass.
• Parishioners will receive the Communion by hand, not by tongue.
• Eucharistic Ministers must wash their hands before and after the distributing the Eucharist.
"I think it is a very wise and intelligent decision on behalf of the Bishop," Monsignor Robert Wenzinger wrote to me in an e-mail. "I realize that it may be difficult for some who receive Communion on the tongue to accept receiving it in the hand. However, the issue here is that
of public health and safety, not only of the one receiving Communion, but also of everyone else, including the person distributing Communion. As was well pointed out by the Bishop, should a tongue or mouth in general be touched, the reality is that it's not just the next host that becomes
contaminated, but the entire ciboria."
Many locals may know of Wenzinger during his many years of service at St. Joseph's Church in east Bakersfield. I personally know him from baptizing my sons and blessing my marriage. We still keep in touch, and these days, you can find him at St. Anthony of Padua in Fresno, where he oversees his new parish and a school.
"As a pastor of a parish with a school of over 600 children, it is my responsibility to do my best to ensure their health and safety," Wenzinger says. "That is, of course, true for all my parishioners, but especially the children. I need, we all need, to think of them, to put them first. We can do so best by cooperating with the Bishop in this matter."
Some local churches were busy Friday, preparing announcements of the new guideliness to be shared at Mass. The directives also will be posted in their bulletins.
The extra steps can help make a difference.
"So far people have been really good about it," says Wenzinger.