Deputy Tells Priest to Use Grape Juice at Prison Mass, No Wine Allowed

I think the pharisees were something like Chief Deputy Mitch Lucas, at least as far as small-minded bigotry is concerned. Lucas might be a great warden, and a good family man, no doubt.

But one would have to be grossly self-righteous heretic to make a security issue over the two ounces of wine only the priest consumes at Mass. And if you think I am being overly critical here, what else can you make out of this splendid gem of a retort: “I understand what his [Father Lofton] argument is,” Lucas said. “But it’s contraband (sic). There are security concerns (sic) for not allowing alcohol in the jail.” [Be it noted, Monsignor Lofton was himself a police officer for many years before entering the seminary.]

Dare I say it? Yes. I do not think that heaven has a place for those who are deliberately inane about religion. They give insult to the image of God in whose likeness they were created. My advice to the Chief Deputy would be to “grow up.”

Catholic Culture: 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. Read more here with link.