Israel-Hamas war blamed for Uganda Catholic Church altar wine shortage

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The Ugandan Catholic Church is facing a severe deficiency of altar wine. 

Altar wine is one of the key elements on the altar of the Holy Eucharist, which is a sacrament. It is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ truly present on the altar under the appearance of bread and wine.

According to the current Code of Canon Law, the most holy Sacrifice of the Eucharist is to be celebrated in bread and wine, to which a small amount of water is to be added.

During the most revered celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, only unadulterated, pure grape juice — not diluted with any other substances — may be used as wine.

"According to Catholic [Church] teachings, wine is the blood of Jesus Christ who died as our savior and is administered with bread as Holy Communion to Christians who have undergone the confirmation," A Catholic Christian says.

Jesus' Last Supper with the disciples during Passover is symbolised by the Holy Communion. According to Catholic Church belief, Jesus blessed the bread and wine during the final supper, declaring: "This is my body... This is My blood." So, the secret to consecration is wine. According to Roman Catholic doctrine, the consecrated body contains Jesus.

Middle East conflict to blame

It is becoming apparent that the shortage, which has been on since the start of Lent, is probably going to get worse because the Middle East conflict has also impacted exports to Uganda.

The Catholic Church's holding firm, JW InterServices Ltd, which is in charge of worldwide procurement, has alerted dioceses to the issue and advised them to use their stock cautiously. It claimed that the delay resulted from the Middle East turmoil altering supply channels. To celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion, the Church imports wine from Spain.

To manage the situation, the priests are supposed to utilise the wine that is available judiciously, according to information that Uganda Catholic Church media platforms, Uganda Radio Network (URN) saw that was sent to every diocese in Uganda.

In a letter dated April 30, 2024, with reference number 240430/Admin/Tr1, the managing director of the company, the Rev. Fr. Asiku Alfred Tulu, states that although the wine was anticipated to arrive in Uganda by the beginning of April, a change in route may only allow it to reach by the end of May. The business does some internal and some foreign procurements for the Catholic Church and is a member of the Ugandan Catholic Episcopal Conference.

“This is to inform you that due to the Middle-East wars, the ship’s usual passage through the Mediterranean and the Red Sea was suspended and canceled. The ships have been diverted to take longer and safer routes through the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean which has caused a major crisis and delays of their arrival to Mombasa Port,” the statement read.

The letter signed by Fr Tulu says: “This has affected the arrival of Mass Wine, which we had expected to be here at the beginning of April 2024.  The information from our shippers indicates that Wine will arrive in Mid-May and we hope to clear it through Uganda customs by the end of May".

“This, therefore, is to kindly request you to regulate the use of wine as much as possible. In the meantime, we have limited stock of White Mass Wine, duly approved by the Uganda Episcopal Conference,” Tulu says as he apologises for “any inconveniences caused by this unforeseen situation caused by the above factors".

Impact of Israel-Hamas war

Huthi rebels have claimed a series of near-daily drone and missile assaults on cargo ships traveling in a Red Sea strait through which a significant portion of the world's shipping passes, threatening international shipping in a pressure campaign over the Israel-Hamas war. The rebels have vowed to attack any vessel along the strait that they believe to be headed to Israel.