Unforeseen consequences

Because of the Gaza war: Uganda’s church runs out of wine

Uganda's priests have to ration mass wine (symbolic image).

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/PIERMICHELE MALUCCHI – PMM-Art)

An unforeseen consequence of the Middle East conflict: Uganda's Catholic priests could soon run out of mass wine. In a letter to all dioceses in the East African country, the church's own import company appeals to clergy to ration wine in the coming weeks.

Wine is an essential part of the sacrament of the Eucharist, where, according to Roman Catholic belief, it is transformed into the blood of Jesus Christ. In the Church of Uganda, there is a risk that it will soon no longer be possible to celebrate this. This is due to the war in the Middle East between Israel, Hamas and other warring parties.

Wine won't arrive until the end of May at the earliest
Uganda's church imports wine from Spain for its services. However, a ship loaded with it, which was expected at the beginning of April, is extremely delayed. Instead of being able to sail via the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, it now has to take the safer route via the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. This means that the wine - via the port in Kenya as a stopover - will not reach Uganda until the end of May at the earliest, according to the import company in the letter.

In the meantime, only a limited supply of white mass wine is available. It must therefore be rationed. Panning 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 allied with Iran: Since the beginning of the Gaza war, triggered by the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, the Islamists have repeatedly bombarded Israel with rockets. Soon after, attacks also began on merchant ships sailing through the Red Sea past Yemen.

Missiles reach as far as the Mediterranean
It was only on Friday that the Houthi militia announced an expansion of attacks on freighters in the Mediterranean. A spokesman for the group told supporters in the Yemeni capital Sanaa that ships en route to Israeli ports would also be attacked with immediate effect. According to experts, the Houthis have missiles with a range of up to 2,500 kilometers. They could therefore make good on their threat.