NEW YORK – In an effort to assist pastoral ministry staff, educate facility staff, and create better access to Mass for inmates, the Texas bishops have published new guidelines for the use of sacramental wine in state correctional institutions.
The guidelines, published May 14 through the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops, essentially reads as an explainer to help non-Catholics understand what sacramental wine represents, and the reason for its necessary presence and use at a Mass.
Considering situations can exist where correctional institution staff – security guards, wardens, etc. – aren’t Catholic and therefore may not understand the need for the wine to enter the facility, Jennifer Carr Allmon, executive director of the TCCB said publishing a singular set of guidelines will help all parties involved be on the same page.
