Inmates Drinking Wine in New Zealand

Filed in archive Wine Laws on May 15, 2007

Wine has a long history of being used in religious ceremonies. For those of us who drink socially, this is something not always considered right away. However, what happens when you are in a situation, like prison, where alcohol is baned?

From Communion wine ban for NZ prisons to be lifted:

Priests and inmates will once again be allowed to consume Communion wine in prisons after a New Zealand Corrections Department review of a current ban on alcohol in correctional facilities.

As NZ Catholic first reported in April, the Corrections Act (2004), which prohibited unauthorized items, including "any drug, alcohol, or other intoxicating substance" from being taken into prison, was also being applied to Communion wine.

Corrections Minister Damien O'Connor asked his department to review that prohibition, and the department announced on May 11 that, after consultation with the Prison Chaplaincy Service of Aotearoa New Zealand, an exemption had been granted to allow priests to take Communion wine into prisons. It can be consumed by the priest and the prisoners, the correction department said in a statement.