…not not that indult. Another one:

Catholic News Service reports:

At the direction of Pope Benedict XVI, extraordinary ministers of holy Communion will no longer be permitted to assist in the purification of the sacred vessels at Masses in the United States.

In an Oct. 23 letter, Bishop William S. Skylstad, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, asked his fellow bishops to inform all pastors of the change, which was prompted by a letter from Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments.

The U.S. bishops had asked the Vatican to extend an indult — or church permission — in effect since 2002 allowing extraordinary ministers of holy Communion to help cleanse the Communion cups and plates when there were not enough priests or deacons to do so.

Bishop Skylstad, who heads the Diocese of Spokane, Wash., said Cardinal Arinze asked Pope Benedict about the matter during a June 9 audience, "and received a response in the negative."

Noting that the General Instruction of the Roman Missal "directs that the sacred vessels are to be purified by the priest, the deacon or an instituted acolyte," the cardinal said in his Oct. 12 letter that "it does not seem feasible, therefore, for the congregation to grant the requested indult from this directive in the general law of the Latin Church."

Update: I’ve pulled this from the comments, because it’s an important point to make – from Fr. Totton:

..please realize that we are speaking here NOT about "cleansing" but about "purification"

Whatever "cleansing" is, "purification" involves using ordinary water to dissolve Eucharistic particles and any remnant of the precious Blood from the vessels – then consuming that "ablution" containing the remaining eucharistic fragments. The ablution is preferably not to be deposited in the sacrarium, but to be consumed.

If there is any washing (or cleansing) to take place after that, I think anybody – EMHC’s, sacristans, servers, priests, etc. – would be welcome to do so.

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