SALT LAKE CITY -- The spreading H1N1 flu virus is prompting Utah's Catholic churches to alter some religious practices.
On Sunday priests statewide discontinued the use of a shared communion cup and advised churchgoers to forgo shaking or holding hands during service.
The changes to the liturgy were ordered in a letter Thursday from Bishop John C. Wester of the Salt Lake City diocese.
Wester asked churches to remove holy water from communal fonts and advised priests to place communion wafers in worshippers' hands, not on their tongues as is often the practice.
Priests and church deacons have also been asked to refrain from placing their hands on the heads of children or others when receiving blessings instead of communion.
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