KEVON FELMINE

Se­nior Re­porter

kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt

Chris­t­ian Church­es are study­ing a new law passed by Par­lia­ment that could make the tra­di­tion­al sip of wine tak­en by chil­dren and teenagers dur­ing Holy Com­mu­nion a $50,000 of­fence, and plans to make rep­re­sen­ta­tions be­fore Christ­mas.

An­gli­can Bish­op Right Rev­erend Claude Berkley said the law di­rect­ly af­fects the rite, which has been prac­tised by gen­er­a­tions of Chris­tians.

“This is an en­shrined rit­u­al of the Church from very ear­ly times.”

Holy Com­mu­nion, al­so called the Eu­charist, is a cen­tral rite in many Chris­t­ian church­es. It traces to the Last Sup­per in the Gospels, where Je­sus shared bread and wine with his dis­ci­ples. In Catholic teach­ing, the bread and wine be­come the body and blood of Christ, while oth­er de­nom­i­na­tions hold dif­fer­ent views.

Berkley said the Church was study­ing the law and, if it re­mained in force, “the Church is com­pelled to obey the law of the land.”

The Mis­cel­la­neous Pro­vi­sions (Al­co­hol, Cannabis, Dan­ger­ous Drugs, Gam­bling and To­bac­co) Bill, 2026, rais­es the le­gal age for al­co­hol and to­bac­co from 18 to 21, and for cannabis and gam­bling to 25. It makes it an of­fence for any­one aged 18 to 20, or a child over ten, to drink or pos­sess al­co­hol, and for any­one to know­ing­ly sell it to some­one un­der 21. The penal­ty is a $50,000 fine, though po­lice may is­sue a fixed penal­ty no­tice that can be paid or set­tled through a re­ha­bil­i­ta­tive pro­gramme.

As in­tro­duced, the Bill has no ex­emp­tion for re­li­gious or sacra­men­tal al­co­hol. Berkley said the Church’s think­ing is that an ex­press ex­emp­tion is need­ed, but it has not con­clud­ed on that.

An­gli­cans use a low-al­co­hol wine, Berkley said. The Church once im­port­ed an of­fi­cial com­mu­nion wine that is no longer avail­able and now of­ten buys from the Ro­man Catholic Church. Chil­dren and teenagers have tak­en it, he said, and the Church has not had an is­sue.

In the House last week, Op­po­si­tion MP Colm Im­bert linked the cannabis amend­ments to lim­its on sacra­men­tal wine at com­mu­nion. At­tor­ney Gen­er­al John Je­re­mie re­ject­ed his in­ter­pre­ta­tion and called his claims “in­flam­ma­to­ry and de­void of mer­it.”

Im­bert re­peat­ed the charge on X on Fri­day, post­ing that the UNC Gov­ern­ment had just passed a law which “im­pos­es an out­right ban on the dis­pens­ing of sacra­men­tal wine to Catholics and oth­er Chris­tians un­der the age of 21 dur­ing com­mu­nion, with harsh penal­ties.” He al­so claimed no oth­er Com­mon­wealth coun­try has such a law.

Not every church is af­fect­ed. Spir­i­tu­al Bap­tist leader King Shep­erd Ray Brath­waite said his faith us­es non-al­co­holic wine through­out the coun­try.

Berkley said he does not re­call any con­sul­ta­tion with the An­gli­can Church. IRO pres­i­dent Dr El­lis Bur­ris said it did not con­sult the Gov­ern­ment or the At­tor­ney Gen­er­al.

“We will not ask any ques­tions.”

The IRO will ta­ble the Bill at its meet­ing on No­vem­ber 21.

The Catholic Arch­dio­cese is aware of the is­sue. Guardian Me­dia reached out for com­ment and is await­ing a re­sponse.

Par­lia­ment com­plet­ed its pas­sage of the Bill last week when the House ap­proved two amend­ments from the Sen­ate.