In the UK, the Chalice may be returning to the people
From the Church Times
THE COMMON CUP could soon be administered at the eucharist again, as speculation grew this week that the bishops would soften their advice, imposed in July amid fears about swine flu.
There has been growing evidence that parishes are ignoring the advice, given by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, to offer communion in one kind only (News, 28 August). In the past week, a number of dioceses have issued the “all clear”, hedged about with warnings that the advice may change if the swine-flu pandemic worsens.
The spread of the disease slowed during the summer holidays, and there is little evidence so far of an increase after pupils went back to school. To date, 75 deaths have been ascribed to it. Among the dioceses where advice favours the administering of the chalice to the congregation are Wakefield, Lincoln, Hereford, Gloucester, and St Edmundsbury & Ipswich.