Largest ever survey of US Catholics shows faithful want an end to Communion in the hand

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The largest survey of Catholics in the United States ever conducted found that the faithful overwhelmingly say that receiving Holy Communion in the hand has led to loss of faith in the Eucharist and that they want a restoration of traditional liturgical practices.

The elevation of the Holy Eucharist at Mass.Shutterstock.com

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Peter Martin

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Tue Oct 15, 2024 - 9:51 am EDT

(LifeSiteNews) — The largest survey of U.S. Catholics ever conducted shows that the faithful want reverent, solemn worship and an end to distributing Holy Communion in the hand and the use of extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion.

On Tuesday, the Real Presence Coalition (RPC) released the results of its massive July 2024 survey seeking to identify causes of a lack of faith in the Eucharist among many self-professed Catholics in the United States. 

The survey, conducted with assistance from the national polling firm Public Opinion Strategies, received nearly 16,000 responses, including from 14,725 U.S. lay Catholics across every Latin diocese in the country. 780 responses were submitted by attendees of the U.S. bishops’ National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.

“This is the single largest survey of Catholics ever undertaken in the United States,” said RPC spokesperson Vicki Yamasaki. “Surveys from organizations such as Pew Research and Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) come nowhere close to the number of Catholics participating in this survey.”

Notably, the RPC survey drew heavily upon practicing Catholics, with 97 percent of respondents saying that they attend Mass at least once a week and believe in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Most respondents, 84 percent, identified themselves as Catholics “from infancy.”

Asked what has contributed most to loss of faith in the Eucharist, respondents overwhelmingly cited reception of Holy Communion in the hand while standing, with nearly 58 percent saying it has had the “greatest” level of impact. 

Read the rest: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/largest-ever-survey-of-us-catholics-shows-faithful-want-an-end-to-communion-in-the-hand/