Philocrites

O ye of little faith.

by Philocrites

As noted in my Scrapbook back in October, the Catholic bishop of Vermont is spooked by the flu. He has formally asked the priests in his diocese to withhold the communion chalice from their congregations until Easter and to discourage people from shaking hands during the peace. The New York Times catches up with the story today, and adds some medical analysis:

Dr. Arnold S. Monto, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan, said there was no evidence that the ban would actually stop transmission of the flu. Sitting in a pew with a sick person for an hour is probably riskier than the kind of contact covered by the edict, Dr. Monto said.

Bishop Kenneth Angell is apparently the only U.S. Catholic bishop to urge such precautions. ("Bishop Acts to Keep the Flu From the Flock," Katie Zezima, New York Times 11.28.04, reg req'd)

Copyright © 2004 by Philocrites | Posted 28 November 2004 at 10:44 AM

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