Sid: This is beyond ridiculous. The church should definitely allow a gluten-free wafer. That we even have to discuss this is outrageous.
My 2 children and husband have CD. (Along with many members of my husband's family -- English/Scottish decent.) The article is wrong though, it's not a rare disease, just rarely diagnosed in this country. It is estimated that 1 in 150 people have CD. My husband was 38 when he discovered he had it. His aunt and an uncle were diagnosed in their 60s.
http://www.celiaccenter.org/ In Italy, they test every child for CD before age 7.
In Europe, groceries are more clearly labeled "gluten-free."
In the U.S., dining out is a challenge. Eating at friends' homes is a bit awkward sometimes, but manageable. Wafers at the Catholic Church are impossible. (I left the church a while back, though.)
University of MD, Baltimore is doing great research, and they hosted an International Symposium on CD a few years ago for the first time on U.S. soil -- hoping to get other U.S. research universities attention.
My children eat well. I make our bread, daily. There are scads of gluten-free resources on the Internet. I even splurge for bagels from a company in Canada (Kinnikinnick.com). And MissRoben.com sells baking ingredients and just about everything else.
We eat healthy -- meats, cheeses, veggies, fruits, salads... Everything else is homemade. I don't even keep wheat flour in the house. I serve a gluten-free Thanksgiving dinner for everyone (with stuffing and gravy), and bake holiday pies and a fabulous lasagna. Anyone who eats at my house eats gluten-free and never notices the difference. It takes time to reach this level of comfort/familiarity, however, and food labeling in this country is problematic at times.