The attempt by certain quarters to project brewing of wine in churches as a smokescreen to sell liquor is mischievous and painful, Archbishop of Thiruvananthapuram (Latin rite) Soosa Pakiam M. has said.
A press note here on Wednesday said the Church manufactures and uses wine that does not contain even 1% alcohol. This is done under the Cochin Mass Wine Act. However, some persons have misinterpreted this and have argued that the production of Mass wine be brought under The Winery Rules.
The request of the Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram to raise the production of Mass wine to 2,500 litres from the present 250 litres is being seen as an exaggeration by the Joint Excise Commissioner. The increase in production is not commensurate with the increase in the number of priests. The increase in production of Mass wine was sought by the Thiruvananthapuram archdiocese and the Neyyattinkara diocese for the churches, convents, and ashrams under them.
‘Two to three drops’
Moreover, in many dioceses there is a profusion of the faithful. In these areas, Mass is offered more than once a day for rituals connected with marriage and death. Further, in pilgrimage centres such as Vettucaud church, Mass is offered more than once. In short, there has been a tenfold increase in the number of Mass offered in churches in Thiruvananthapuram and Neyyattinkara, the press note said.
When the wafer is dipped in wine and administered as part of the Mass, each person gets only two to three drops of wine. This is done for the completion of the Mass. This being the reality any attempt to misrepresent Mass wine production with liquor trade is an onslaught on the church which has for long sought prohibition, the press note added.
