It Turns Out That Holy Water Isn't So Holy After All According To Study

[Initech]

Despite its purported cleansing properties, holy water could actually be more harmful than healing, according to a new Austrian study on "holy" springs.

Researchers at the Institute of Hygiene and Applied Immunology at the Medical University of Vienna tested water from 21 springs in Austria and 18 fonts in Vienna and found samples contained up to 62 million bacteria per milliliter of water, none of it safe to drink.

Tests indicated 86 percent of the holy water, commonly used in baptism ceremonies and to wet congregants' lips, was infected with common bacteria found in fecal matter such as E. coli, enterococci and Campylobacter, which can lead to diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain, and fever.

Nitrates, commonly found in fertilizer from farms, were also identified in the water. If ingested, water containing nitrates over the maximum contaminant level could cause serious illness, especially in infants younger than 6 months, which could lead to death if untreated, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/study-holy-water-harmful-health/story?id=20257722

[Warren DeMontague]

1. No way!

Perhaps they need to add a bit of holy bleach.

[MADem]

7. +1,000 nt

[Scuba]

2. Contains E. coli, huh? Explains the expression "holy crap".

[Ilsa]

3. I don't understand where "Holy Water" comes from.

It comes from a specific place or places?

[liberal N proud]

4. Just because a priest prays over it, does not physically change it

And then it sits there and everyone sticks their fingers in it. Do you know how many people don't wash their hand after using the toilet?

[Brigid]

5. Psst ! Tell ya a little secret:

I don't actually touch the water in the font when I enter the nave of the church when I go to Mass.

[Tien1985]

6. Standing water fondled by masses = bacteria

Seems kind of self-explanatory.

Hopefully they use clean water to baptise babies.

[dimbear]

8. Some of the old documents say do your baptisms in living water, by which they meant running water,

which is a whole lot safer as long as you don't let anybody drown.

[Javaman]

9. you mean the little "holy water" pots at the church where

dozens of people dip their questionably "clean" hands in one after another is not actually clean?

hard to believe. HARD TO BELIEVE.