Shaking the Corporal into the Sacrarium

Question from JF on 10/6/2007:

Dear Fr. Gantley, I am a sacristan at my Church. We have been directed to shake the Corporal into the sacrarium. I told the head sacristan that we should not do that. She said that the pastor wanted us to do it. I told her I would not. Last Sunday, one of the sacristans told me to shake the Corporal into the sink again, and I told her we could not do that. The pastor came into the sacristy at that time, and I told her that he could shake the Corporal, but I would not. He shouted that the sacrarium was given to us by, "Holy Mother Church" for this specific purpose. The other sacristan shook the corporal into the sink. Later, my daughter told me that there were pieces of the Host in the sink. They weren't large pieces, just fragments, but clearly visible and identifiable as pieces of the Host. I covered them with water until I finished cleaning the chalices and ciboria, then I poured all the water that I used to clean the vessals into the sacrarium. The pieces of the Host went down the drain. However, there were still pieces of a Host dried onto the sink - from another Mass I guess. Paragraph 107 of Redemptionis Sacramentum strictly forbids discarding the Sacred Species into the sacrarium. What should I do? Our pastor is not very approachable. Please help in any way you can. Thank you very much.

Faithfully in Christ, JF

Answer by Rev. Mark J. Gantley, JCL on 10/7/2007:

I would suggest looking at the corporal to see if there are any identifiable pieces. If so, consume them. Then it would be Ok to shake the corporal into the sacrarium as directed along with lots of running water.