Unforeseen consequence of the conflict in the Middle East: Catholic priests in Uganda could soon run out of sacramental wine. In a letter to all dioceses in the East African country, the church’s own import company calls on clergy to ration wine in the coming weeks.
Wine is an essential part of the sacrament of the Eucharist, where, according to the Roman Catholic faith, it is transformed into the blood of Jesus Christ. In the Ugandan church there is a risk that it will soon no longer be possible to celebrate this. The war in the Middle East between Israel, Hamas and other warring parties is the cause of this.
The wine will not arrive until the end of May at the earliest
The Ugandan church imports wine from Spain for its church services. A ship loaded with it, which was expected at the beginning of April, is severely delayed. Because instead of being able to travel across the Mediterranean and Red Seas, it now has to take the safer route across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. This means that the wine will not reach Uganda until the end of May at the earliest – via the port in Kenya as a stopover – the import company said in the letter.
In the meantime, there is only a limited supply of white sacramental wine available. The priests must therefore exercise moderation. Adulteration is not an option: the wine must be natural and pure and must not be mixed with other substances.
The Red Sea is made unsafe by the Houthi militia in Yemen, which is an ally of Iran: since the start of the Gaza war, caused by the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, the Islamists have repeatedly fired rockets at Israel. Shortly afterwards, attacks on merchant ships sailing through the Red Sea past Yemen began.
Missiles reach into the Mediterranean Sea
Only on Friday did the Houthi militia announce an expansion of attacks on cargo ships in the Mediterranean. From now on, ships heading to Israeli ports should also be attacked, a spokesperson for the group told supporters in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. According to experts, the Houthis have missiles with a range of up to 2,500 kilometers. So they were able to carry out their threat.
Source: Krone
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