Drunk Hungarian priests

"Petition the Lord with prayer.

"You cannot petition the Lord with prayer."

-- The Soft Parade

The Doors

A recent story in a Seventh-day Adventist publication, Liberty, caught my eye. Titled "Special Dispensation," it addresses the problem in Hungary with Roman Catholic priests who violate Hungary's zero tolerance of drunk drivers.

The problem is compounded by the fact that the nation of Hungary has a shortage of priests, hence the priests travel long circuitous routes to several different churches to take care of weddings, christenings and funerals, usually with more wine imbibed at each stop.

The Catholic church has asked Hungary's justice minister to exempt the priests from the law, with the church issuing special cards showing that alcohol consumption is in fulfillment of and in conjunction with their official duties.

That request puts the government in the position of showing favoritism to a particular denomination if it meets the church's request, or, if it denies the request, curtailing the religious freedom and interfering in the execution of the priests' religious duties.

To most of us, that seems to be a definite Catch 22.

As a "recovering" alcoholic -- my last drink was in March 1982 -- I probably belabor the matter. Just not drinking is relatively easy for me, being a Protestant.

But the story goes on to ask that the Catholic Church take a second look at the sacramental wine. "When God gave the Israelites guidelines for their feasts [in Leviticus], He told them to use "new wine," the story states. "That is, wine that hasn't fermented yet, or pure grape juice." That's what we used -- Welch's grape juice, or grape juice my mother canned -- in the Lord's Supper when I was growing up in the Southern Baptist church.

Now, checking my various Bible translations' concordances I have at the office, I find only one reference to "new wine," that being in Leviticus 23:13 concerning offerings for the first fruits of the harvest.

But old habits die hard, especially when it comes to drinkers of alcohol; and the use of wine, as opposed to "pure grape juice," dates back well more than 1,000 years.

Yet the writer, Heinz Volk, a Canadian, states, "It would be well for priests and other clergy to go back to the drink that God originally intended to be used in His holy feasts. That way they could keep the law and carry out their religious duties with the blessings of the state as well as a clear head and clean conscience."

As for me, I really don't have a problem with someone who can 'drink successfully," that is, drink responsibly, as long as I remember I cannot.

Or, they can at least get a designated driver.