So the claim is made that the change of discipline from Communion on the tongue, kneeling, to Communion on the hand, standing, has been the cause of persons falling away from the true Faith, and the cause of the heresy of losing faith in the Real Presence. But I don’t believe that any discipline protects the faithful from falling away from the true Faith, nor protects them from heresy.

First, the Pharisees of Jesus’ time were very exacting in following every exterior discipline. And yet they lost love, faith, and hope, as proven by their rejection of the Messiah. Some of them even knew that Jesus was the Messiah, and they had Him put to death anyway (Lk 20:14). Exterior discipline does not guarantee interior love, faith, and hope.

Second, the schismatics of the present day, who accuse both Vatican II and Pope Francis of heresy, have lost their faith. They do not believe anything that any Pope or Council teaches unless it agrees with their own understanding. That is reason devoid of faith. They receive Communion on the tongue, kneeling, and they also commit the sins of schism and heresy. They reject the authority of the Pope and the body of Bishops. And they reject the dogmas of the indefectibility of the Church, and the never-failing faith of the Popes, and the infallibility of the teachings of Ecumenical Councils. They also reject the teachings of the Church on salvation for non-Christians.

So their lack of faith, their sins of schism and heresy, prove that reception of Communion on the tongue while kneeling is not a guarantee of orthodoxy. It does not preserve one in love, faith, and hope. Exterior disciplines are necessary, but they do not save.

Thus, it is hypocritical and rather absurd for schismatics and heretics to proclaim that anyone who doesn’t follow their disciplines is lost, when they themselves have turned away from the true path to Heaven marked out by Christ, which is to obey the Church.

Moreover, the right to receive Communion on the tongue is not a fundamental human right, but a disciplinary right granted by Church authority, and able to be suspended by Church authority for any just reason — such as a deadly pandemic.

Ronald L. Conte Jr.