Smoky Mountains Sunrise

Friday, May 25, 2012

Chaplain Barred from Celebrating Mass in South Carolina Jail

From Catholic World News
A Catholic chaplain has been told that he cannot celebrate Mass in a South Carolina jail.

Msgr. Ed Lofton, who had been celebrating Mass at Charleston County jail for 15 years, was blocked from entering the facility because he was carrying altar wine. The jail’s policy bans all alcohol, and while state regulations in South Carolina make an exception for sacramental wine, Charleston County does not.

Msgr. Lofton reports that he bring a single ounce of wine to the jail, all of which he would consume himself. Prison officials told him that he must substitute grape juice. But a valid Mass cannot be celebrated without wine. 

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1 comment:

kkollwitz said...

What a hoot. The yahoos are going to have to backtrack like the Germans at Falaise.