A bishop writing in the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano argues that Catholics should receive Communion on the tongue while kneeling, rather than in the hand while standing. The latter practice has become increasingly common in recent decades.

While the author is not an official of the Roman Curia, but merely an auxiliary bishop in Kazakhstan (a country with fewer than 200,000 Catholics), his article does reflect the Vatican’s increasingly favorable attitude toward traditional forms of devotion. Recall last summer’s papal document making it easier to celebrate the Old Latin Mass.